Carlisle's Lost Daughter
by chloemarie1
Summary: Carlisle had a child before he died and believes that she is dead, but later finds out that may not be the case.  Will he find her? Will she join the Cullen family?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

_Carlisle's Point of View_

Carlisle looked at the faces of his children in a family portrait as he thought about the member of his family that was missing. It was March 2nd, the day of his only biological child's birthday. Of course she wasn't still alive, over three hundred years had passed since she had been born. Unless she somehow became a vampire, he was certain that she had passed on. Carlisle had done all the research he could on what had become of his original family, and found out that his beautiful wife had been struck by lightning when his adorable daughter was only four. He also found out that Natalie, his daughter, had gone to live with her god-parents, a close family friend of Carlisle and his previous wife, Irene.

No one other than Esme knew that he had had a family before he was turned, and on occasion, like today, the entire family wondered why Carlisle was so unlike himself and so unhappy. He literally was the complete opposite of himself. His temper was short and he didn't want to talk to anybody, let alone help with _their_ problems. Esme was understanding of this and advised her adopted children to leave their father alone today.

Carlisle hadn't come out of his office since the day literally began at 12 am. He had been sitting there thinking freely about his daughter because Edward was out. He was thinking about what her life had been like, what talents she had developed, wondering if she had found love, how many children she had, every detail that may or may not have affected her life. All he knew was that she had literally been the most magical, adorable, beautiful child he had ever seen. He remembered the first time she opened her eyes and saw how shockingly beautiful the color blue they were. He remembered how creamy and smooth her skin was. And as she started to grow, how cute each of the freckles on the bridge of her nose was and how her blonde curls had just a few of the red highlights in it to match her mother's hair. Irene had always said that if it weren't for the few freckles on her nose, she would look just like him.

Carlisle had only known her until she was about one and a half years old, before he was turned. He had missed so much and wanted to raise her and see what an amazing lady she was, but he realized that even if he hunted animals instead of humans, he couldn't risk her or her mother's life.

He continued to sit and mourn until Esme knocked on the door.

"Carlisle, may I please come in?" she asked quietly, not wanting to upset him even more on this awful day.

"Yes." He answered simply, no emphasis in his voice. It was like he was dying, like there was nothing left to him. He would snap out of it, of course, but not today. Today he mourned for his child.

"I'm so sorry, Carlisle. I know what it's like to lose a child, but at least I know all about the short life he had." She changed the direction of her conversation when his face fell just a little more and his breathing hitched, "That must not have helped, I apologize."

"It's not your fault, Esme. You had good intentions. I just can't help but wondering how she turned out." He was now crying tearless sobs and his beautiful, loving wife just wrapped her arms around him and whispered "I know" into his ear.

They stood like that for a while, which was odd, considering usually Esme was the one crying as Carlisle held her, but he could not help it. When he was human, he always had the desire to be a father, and when he finally got the opportunity, his time with his child was cut much too short by the same creature he was now. Thinking of this only made Carlisle more upset with himself as he stood there. March 2nd would be over soon, and the Cullen 'children' would be home from hunting soon, so he had to pull himself together. He was not entirely sure why, but Carlisle did not want them to know he had another child. As he finished thinking about his angel of a daughter, he thought the same thing he always did when his thoughts of her were coming to a close: he sent up a prayer to the Lord that his wife and daughter would be safe and at peace in heaven, Amen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-

_Natalie's Point of View_

As her family sang 'Happy Birthday' she wondered how they would react if she told them this was actually her 347th birthday instead of her 15th, but she went along with a smile anyway. She was glad it wasn't a big party though, like last year. She was social, but didn't necessarily like all eyes to be on her. As they finished eating the cake, she thanked her foster parents for the gifts they had given her and went upstairs to get ready for bed.

After getting ready, Natalie grabbed her current journal off the shelf and snuggled under her cover as she began to write.

_Dear Diary, _she wrote. _Today I turned 15, again. I really wish I knew exactly where my father was. I wish I could find him so I could have a family again. Though I love my foster parents and know that they are extremely good people, it won't be long until I move on to the next home. Sometimes I wish my mother hadn't made that deal with a witch. I'm sick of being the ages of 14-25. For one, as a 25 year old, every time I find a job I really like, I die. And then I'm stuck being 14 again and starting all over._

She stopped writing for a moment and thought of the deal her mother had made. If she gave up her life by the way of lightning, her daughter would remain young and healthy enough to walk the earth as long as it took to find her father and spend as long as she could with him. So every 25th birthday, Natalie died in her sleep, and the next morning woke up 14 in a different foster home. She didn't understand how she ended up in a different home or how no one ever noticed that the girl was all the sudden a teenager again. It must be a part of the deal that was made when she was only four. But this is the only information she ever had.

She didn't want to think about it anymore that night so she put the leather bound book on her nightstand and turned off the light. But this did not keep her from thinking about her father as she wished it would have. She wondered where he was and if he ever got remarried. But mostly, she wondered if he remembered her. She didn't remember him. All she had was a simple drawing of her family after she was born and a description in her mother's old diary. Seeing as how she couldn't get any sleep anyway, Natalie got up and went to the box that she kept on the floor of her closet and contained some of the most important things in her life.

She pulled out her mother's old diary and read the entry she had written on Natalie's first birthday. It talked about how, aside from the few freckles and the few deep red highlights in her hair, how she looked a lot like her father. She also wrote about how when she saw Natalie's father interacts with her, he looked so _overjoyed_. As if his precious daughter was the best thing he could ever ask for.

With that, tears came to Natalie's eyes as she wondered if that were true. Had her father really loved her like that? To the point where he thought she was the best, most precious gift the Lord had ever given him? _If that's really true,_ she thought,_ then maybe he would be happy to see me after all these years, maybe he would actually love me enough to spend part of my life with me._

With this last thought, Natalie finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

_Natalie's Point of View_

Almost a month had passed since Natalie's 15th birthday and, as expected, she was moving on to a different foster home. She didn't resent moving again, she had actually gotten quite used to it and had the schedule memorized. At noon a social security worker would come take her to the new place and the parents would be super nice to her for the first few days and try to find out random facts about her, not to mention, any emotional problems. It wasn't a written schedule, but it didn't matter. That's how it went _every single time._

Right on cue, the worker came to pick up Natalie and her belongings. She had two suitcases, one with clothes and the other with journals and books, only no one knew that. As she slid into the passenger seat of the car, the stranger tried to make friendly conversation with her.

Being somewhat of a social butterfly, the conversation carried easily. She found out his name was Tom and that he had a wife and two daughters, also that he had a slight obsession with old cars and the Beatles. Tom was quick to point out how she was a good at making conversation and Natalie smiled as she remembered a comment one of her few close friends had made one time about being Miss Congeniality. A lot of people thought that about her, and her last set of foster parents had considered it a talent of hers. She could make anyone automatically feel comfortable with her and make a room full of cynical people break down some of their very thick walls and begin to talk with one another.

Natalie zoned out thinking about her close friends and foster parents. She really did miss some of them, but she was confident that she could make more at her next home.

"Natalie?" Tom asked, bringing her back to reality. Oh, he had been talking to her.

"I'm sorry, Tom. I didn't catch what you just said. Come again?" She replied politely.

"I just thought you would want to know where you were going. It's a small town near the coast in Washington, not sure the exact location, but it's called Forks."

Huh. A small town, that was unusual. Usually foster parents lived in bigger cities. Wait, _Washington_? Her last home was in southern Oregon, there had to be more foster homes in between Southern Oregon and the coast of Washington. She didn't have a problem with it, of course; it was just strange for them to send her so far.

"Just out of curiosity, Tom, why so far away?" Natalie yet again thought about how strange it was. Then again, she had gone to sleep in Tennessee before and woken up in Northern California.

"Well, there aren't a ton of foster homes in Oregon and the few that were there already had a lot of children there. Forks seemed like the best option."

"Okay, I was just wondering. It seems so far."

They still had a few hours left in the car so they began listening to the radio and talking every once in a while about random things. Tom seemed very intent on getting to know Natalie, or maybe he was just trying to make the ride seem shorter. He asked her about her hobbies, about her favorite color, if she liked to read, all sorts of things. Natalie really enjoyed Tom's company. He was very nice and easy to get along with.

Whenever they didn't talk, she would look at her wrist and trace the word she had written in pen this morning, _love_. She did this quite often and no one was ever really sure why. The truth was, even though Natalie was a very nice, pretty, social young girl, she still had a lot of problems. It took her so many years to come to terms with the fact that her mother had given up her life for the sole purpose of Natalie having the opportunity to see her father, which of course no one knew. She had hated herself for a long time after that, and did some awful things to herself. But she was fine now. After years of self-therapy more or less by writing in her journals, she realized that she had been wrong. That her mother dying was not her fault and that she shouldn't waste the opportunity that it had presented. The word was now just a reminder. A reminder that her mother had loved her, a reminder that she loved others, a reminder that she should encourage love between other people, and a reminder that one day she and her father would mutually love each other.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Natalie's Point of View_

Just as she predicted, the second Tom and Natalie got to the new foster home the parents acted all lovey- dovey and ecstatic to have a new foster child. She couldn't necessarily say it was a show because she could not assume that they were lying. However, very few people are actually that happy to have yet another teenager in the house. After all, teenagers tend to be emotional wrecks with all sorts of authority issues…at least that's what most adults like to believe.

Both parents seemed really nice. They gave her a hug and welcomed her to the small town that appeared to be pretty bleak. The house was very pretty and looked inviting. Natalie could picture herself really liking it here. As she walked inside she only felt more comfortable. It was like a scene from a movie. There was a fire in the fireplace, a chocolate brown sofa with another girl appearing her age sitting watching a sitcom. Just then she looked up at me and smiled.

"Natalie, this is our other foster child, Katie." Her new foster mom, Beth, said.

"Hi Natalie! It's so good to finally have another teen around here. I was getting so _bored_." She joked. I could already tell I was going to love her. She seemed so happy and bubbly.

"Hi Katie! I'm glad you feel that way!" It was true; she hated it when other kids felt like they owned the house just because they got there first.

"Katie, do you want to show Natalie her new room?" asked her foster dad, Steven.

"Okay!" Katie replied brightly, "Come on, Natalie! Let's go!"

We went upstairs and turned to walk towards the end of the hall. She opened the last door and there was a huge room that appeared she and Katie would be sharing, but she didn't care. She was already very fond of her sister. The room was painted a vintage-looking pink and had a white stone fire place against one of the walls; there was two matching of everything else: Two matching queen beds with cream duvet covers, two pretty white desks, two dressers. The only thing that there wasn't two of was a bookcase and an absolutely huge closet that looked more like four that one, but it was all connected.

"So what do you think?" Katie asked.

"It's all so pretty, I already love it here." And she did. It seemed so comfortable, so much like _home._ Natalie had never known home. She knew foster homes, but it wasn't anything near what she always imagined a real home would be like.

With that, they began to talk. They sat on Natalie's bed and talked about what the foster parents were like, what the town was like, and their hobbies. Natalie actually found out that she had a lot in common with the girl. She liked playing with hair and makeup but also liked to get dirty from time to time. She liked to bake, but liked eating more. She was very open and social but, just like Natalie, had a quite side to her. After a while, Natalie even noticed that some of their physical traits were the same. She had blonde hair too, but it wasn't quite as bright, almost on the verge of being a light brown color instead. She had pale skin like Natalie, and a body shape kind of like her own only Natalie had a slightly smaller waist, but not by much. The only very apparent difference was that Katie had brown eyes instead of blue.

After comparing body shapes for a little while, Natalie started to complain on how hard it can be to find clothes that look good when you have big hips and a small waist, but Katie simply smiled as she disagreed. Afterword, she showed Natalie her portion of the closet. Man this girl knew how to shop!

"Holy cow, Katie! Where did you get so many clothes?" Natalie's eyes just continued to pop out of her head when she saw the shoe collection.

"Bet-I mean mom really likes shopping. Later she'll probably insist you go out with her because your wardrobe _can't_ be complete with only two suitcases.

"One" Natalie corrected quietly. Suddenly her wardrobe did seem extremely small, but that didn't matter. She had what she needed.

"What! One!" Katie practically screamed. "What's in the other one then?" she continued. She didn't sound angry, just shocked that I had one, small suitcase to fit all my clothes in…easily too.

"Do you want to see?" I asked. I didn't especially want to show her all the journals, some of them were really quiet old. But I could tell her that they were heirlooms or something.

"Yes!" she said excitedly. I guess she didn't get to see other peoples stuff that often. So Natalie walked over and unzipped the bag. All Katie did was gasp in shock, and Natalie 100% understood why. Natalie had two books in there: A nice copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (that was her favorite book) and a very old story book that belonged to her mother had read to her in her young years. The rest was absolutely completely filled to the brim with journals. It did not even have her current diary, which was in her clothes suitcase.

"Why so many?" Katie asked, almost sounding humbled.

"They are the only things I have from my birth family. Most of them are from forever ago, but they are the only heirloom I'll ever have the chance to own." That was not entirely true, but was definitely possible.

"Oh Natalie, I'm sorry" she whispered. I couldn't understand why, she was probably in the same boat as I was, but I was not going to tell her that…at least not right now.

"So anyway, what size shoe do you wear, I think I saw a pair in your closet that I just might have to steal." With a laugh she answered '7' and they spent the rest of the night ogling shoes and clothes and deciding who was allowed to wear what on specific days until they went down for dinner.

She really was going to like it here.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Natalie's Point of View_

Natalie didn't start school until Monday, which meant that she had four days to do pretty much whatever she wanted. Beth took her shopping, and Katie wasn't lying, she loved to spend her money. And Natalie wondered where they got it all, and why they lived in a small-income town. She couldn't blame them though, Forks was nice. The people were nice. All the same, she couldn't picture someone wanting to live here their whole life. After Beth was satisfied with the size of Natalie's wardrobe (who was ecstatic) she spent most of her time with Katie.

The last few nights were ended with Katie describing the atmosphere of Forks High School. She described what most of the people were like and what she thought of them. She told me about her group in particular. There was one really nice girl and the rest were kind of 'plastic' which was the term they had given people who are superficial. The nice girl's name was Angela. She was really smart and understanding and had two younger siblings. The girl who appeared to annoy Katie most though was a girl named Jessica, who seemed the complete opposite from her description. She was nice, but it was obvious she rarely meant what she said and was always getting jealous of people.

All in all, Natalie found it somewhat amusing that the group seemed to have one of each cliché she had ever heard. The shy girl, the nerd, the jealous popular one, the players, and the socially awkward. And she couldn't lie, this really frightened Natalie. They already had one of each, why would they need her? She had always fit into groups really nicely, but it was because she was an original, she was Miss Congeniality. But they already had one, they had Katie.

When Monday morning rolled around, she had decided to go into her new school with a 'que sara, sara' type of attitude. She went through the stages of getting ready with this expression in mind and didn't worry a wink about it until it was time to get dressed. She had always liked to stand out, and always succeeded; but in this town where she already was not as confident as she usually was, did she want to? She decided to dress half as 'out there' as usual and if today went well, tomorrow she would go back to her usual style.

She wore gray skinny jeans that more or less clung to her curvy legs like a second skin, a loose black top, and for the finishing touch, black slouchy boots. Ok, it was much, much less than half. As she descended the stairs with her book bag, she got quite a different feeling than the one she had a few days ago. She felt like today was the day something really big was going to happen, whether it was for better or for worse. When Katie saw her, she almost seemed a little shocked and her eyes tried to ask Natalie what was wrong. This completely mad sense because yesterday she had been wearing clothes that were much more her style, and Natalie always expressed herself through clothing.

"Natalie, what's—"

"I'll explain later." I cut her off. I didn't want to admit to her my fears because she would most likely laugh at me and tell me it was next to impossible for me not to fit in because, well, those are just the kinds of things Katie says. She sees much more to everybody than what's actually there, and that's one of the reasons why I loved her so much.

The car ride to school was quite. The entire way. It was awful, Natalie really wanted to talk about something, but didn't know what. Both Katie and her foster mom could sense her mood right now and if she tried to start up a conversation about anything else, it would inevitably lead to why she did not want to go to school today.

"Have a good day, you two." Beth said before they got out of the car. Katie just wished Natalie luck as she headed to the office and told her where to meet for lunch. The receptionist smiled as Natalie walked through the door.

"You must be Natalie," she cheerfully said, "we're happy to have you here, dear."

"Thank you, have a nice day" she said as soon as she gave Natalie her schedule. The campus wasn't big; she could easily find her way around without the help of a map or a secretary.

The day remained quite boring until Natalie reached fifth period and realized she had English with Katie. Katie smiled as soon as she saw her and motioned for Natalie to come sit with her. She did and Katie tried to ask her how Natalie's day was going but was interrupted by the bell when it rang and the teacher started class. As she began to take roll, she realized the new addition and asked Natalie to introduce herself. She told the entire class of 20 students that her name was Natalie and that she had just moved from southern Oregon. The teacher was energetic about her job and Natalie could tell that the small class really enjoyed having her. Natalie already did, English was her favorite subject and she couldn't be more thrilled that the teacher seemed to have the same enthusiasm for writing as she did. Then bell rang and everyone loudly filed out of the class, excited they had an hour long break in between classes.

As Natalie and Katie mad their way to Katie's usual table, she noticed a group of kids Katie had never mentioned. They were all very good looking and they simply stared off into space instead of talking with each other or eating. Natalie zoned out sometimes, but not like that. It was kind of strange. She pointed out the group to Katie.

"Who are they?" Natalie asked, slightly intimidated. These people were gorgeous.

"Oh, they're the Cullen kids. They were adopted, I think. They seem really nice but—"

Katie must have continued talking but Natalie couldn't hear her. The _Cullen_ kids. As in _Carlisle _Cullen? His name was one of the few things she knew for sure about her father, everything else was a little bit hazy, but the name was crystal clear. Natalie had stopped dead in her tracks and Katie turned to look at her.

"Natalie, are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"It's just…I….ummmm… _Cullen_? You're absolutely sure that their last name is Cullen?" She had never been at a loss for words before, and never, ever so shocked.

"Yes, Natalie. Why does it matter?" Natalie had ever told Katie her last name. Most people thought she didn't know her last name.

"Do you know what their father's name is by any chance?" Natalie asked, praying it was not the same name as her father's.

"Yes, his name is Dr. Carlisle Cull—"

"I have to go." Was all Natalie could say

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. I absolutely LOVE reviews. Anyways, I wanted to tell you that I might be switching to first-person point of view, so don't be surprised if that is what happens next chapter, don't be surprised if it doesn't either…I never write in first person. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading! Writing for others is what I live for! **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Edward's Point of View_

The entire school was gossiping about the new girl. All the boys were practically drooling over her and most of the girls were trying to get her attention so they could be friends. He had to admit, she was quite beautiful. As Natalie walked into the cafeteria with her 'sister' Katie, he tried to read her mind, get to know her in his own personal way. Only then did he realize he could not pick up the girl's mental 'voice'. He tried even harder and almost got a headache trying to hear this girl's thoughts. Nothing. Crickets were louder than her. Giving up on that, he began listening to her actual conversation with Katie.

"Who are _they_?" she asked, interest obviously apparent in her voice.

"Oh, they're the Cullen kids. They were adopted, I think. They seem really nice but they tend to keep to themselves most of the time. Don't even think about it, Natalie. They're all togeth—" Katie stopped when she realized that Natalie looked like she was going to pass out. Edward considered going over to help, he did have a couple medical degrees, but decided against it.

"Natalie, are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

She seemed at a loss for words, almost as if she'd met us before, which I was absolutely sure we hadn't. I would remember those beautiful eyes, anyone would. "It's just….I…ummmmmm…_Cullen_? You're absolutely sure their last name is Cullen?" Why was this beautiful girl reacting like this. He had not seen her in his existence, living or not.

"Do you know what their father's name is by any chance?" Carlisle? How in the world would she know Carlisle? She looked as if she were trying to pray in the middle of a cafeteria. Pray for what? He was so confused!

"Yes," Katie answered timidly "His name is Dr. Carlisle Cull-"

"I have to go." Natalie cut her off. Again, _why_? She was not a vampire, her eyes were a testament of that, so how in the world could she have met Carlisle and not the rest of us. After she literally ran out the door, almost every student at the school stared after her, stunned. After thinking about it a moment, Katie turned and walked after to try to find out what was wrong, _because that's what sisters do, _she thought. After she had left too, Edward's family just turned to look at him.

_ What just happened?_ They all though simultaneously. Edward just shook his head. For once, he was just as utterly confused as the rest of them. Out of nowhere, Alice slipped into a vision. Natalie was just standing in Carlisle's office, waiting. But for what? That was all that was in the vision. It just made them all the more confused.

Pretty soon, the bell rang and it was time for the last few classes of the day. All the children at the school seemed less excited as they had before because the girl named Natalie was not here anymore. Edward could have found it very amusing, but didn't because he felt the same way.

As the biology teacher called roll, he realized that the new student was not present. He started to mutter under his breath about how this girl must be another troublemaker and how disrespectful it was to ditch on your first day. Unfortunately for him, Katie heard part of it and got defensive for her best friend/sister. She stood up and walked to the teacher and said in front of the entire class, "She was sick, okay? I am so very sorry science has yet to find a cure for making someone immune to every virus that exists on planet earth. Maybe you should get started on that instead of badmouthing your own students!" she promptly turned back to her seat, grabbed her bag and left the room.

There was a mutual urge in the class to burst into applause, but no one dared to do such a thing. Even though Katie had said these things, though, she didn't really know where Natalie was. She was worried that she had gotten lost, she had only been in town for five days, but calmed down some when she remembered that her foster mom had bought Natalie a cell phone. Foster parents. Edward really did feel some sympathy for the two girls. Even though they were beautiful, talented and happy, they didn't have a permanent parental figure in their lives. He couldn't imagine what life would be like without Carlisle and Esme, especially after only lived 15 short years. 15 years of moving from home to home, from one set of parents to another. It sounded unimaginable; they must be some of the strongest people in the world.

The ride home from school was filled with conversation surrounding the same, strange girl. All of Edward's siblings were asking him to tell him what was going on inside her head. They could not seem to grasp that he literally did not know. The second they set foot through the door of their home they almost all asked where Carlisle was.

"He's at the hospital, what has gotten into you guys?" Esme asked, curious. Because they couldn't wait to ask Carlisle after he got home they told Esme all about the girl and how she reacted towards their family.

After they were done, Esme was just as clueless as her children were. Why would a human act like that? But, even more than that, Esme was worried deeply about where the poor girl had gone and if she was okay, she could have easily lost her way around town. Esme was always reacting like a mother.

More than anything else, Esme kept repeating the name in her head as if an explanation would all the sudden appear out of thin air. _Natalie, hmmm…I wonder where I've heard that name before. Natalie had a connection to Carlisle. Natalie and Carlisle._ "Oh my goodness!" Everyone heard her gasp. Edward tried to tell what had clicked, but Esme had cluttered her mind with random facts so he couldn't make any connection.

"Just out of curiosity, what did you all say she looked like again?" She definitely was on to something, although what no one could tell.

Rosalie answered. "She was pretty pale, short but not nearly as short as Alice, like 5'2, and curvy. She had blonde hair with light brown and deep red accents in it, and really intense blue eyes."

Esme just nodded her head and kept her thoughts busy. But a few minutes later she called Carlisle. "Honey, I think you need to know something, come home" she hung up the phone and they waited for Carlisle to come explain what was going on.

**A/N: I know this chapter might not be as good or flow as well as some of the others, but I had a really busy day and had to stop and continue writing later 3 different times! Also, I might do the conversation in the cafeteria one more time from Katie's point of view, but I highly doubt it, I just needed to have the Cullen's side to it. I have not given up on writing in first person either, I just didn't want to yet, I think I probably will when there starts to be a lot more personal emotions connected to the story (which there will be soon) Thank you so much for reading! It means so much to me! Keep reading and reviewing please! Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Natalie's Point of View_

I didn't know for sure where I was going. I just could not stand to sit in classrooms for another two hours knowing that I was so close to my father. I couldn't sit there and patiently bide my time to think about it and make a rational decision, what if they moved again? I had to strike while the iron was hot. Not quite aware of where I was or how to get anywhere in particular, I decided to call Beth. _I really hope she's not too mad,_ I thought, _I wouldn't want to destroy our relationship after 5 days._ However, Beth seemed really nice, motherly. Hopefully she would be somewhat understanding_. Maybe I should tell her that my father didn't know that I was alive, but it turns out he's here. Before she got put in the system, her mother told her who he was and I knew that he was here. _But in the end, I decided against it, I was too used to taking care of myself to all the sudden start to rely on anybody else.

When Beth got to where I was, which all I knew was that there were a lot of trees, she tried to talk to me, ask me what had happened. I looked at her and her eyes were so, so _caring_ that I started to cry. This wasn't how a foster- mom was supposed to look at you, this is how your real mother looked at you. She wished so much that her mom hadn't died so long ago just for her. Searching for her father all these years had been so stressful that I wasn't sure it was worth it. I didn't even know if my father _wanted_ to know me!

In the back of my mind, a little voice was telling me to get over it, I couldn't do anything about it now, and the deal had been made long ago. The little voice told me to start acting like I was 347 years old. But I wasn't! In reality, I was 15. I was a 15 year old girl with the desire to be loved and nurtured and cared for by her parents. A 15 year old girl who sometimes even wanted discipline from her parents because that was a form of love too. I wanted to have my dad hold me at night after a terrible nightmare. I just wanted someone to take care of me instead of taking care of myself. Everyone says that's what the foster parents are there for, but it's not. The foster parents are there to make sure you have a roof over your head and that you don't die of starvation, they weren't there to nurture and raise.

When Beth realized I wasn't going to say anything about it anytime soon, she started to go back home. When we got there, I simply went to my room and crawled under my covers and cried. He was here, my father was here. But I didn't want to make myself vulnerable by going to him. Because, I couldn't ignore the question: _What if he doesn't want you?_

After about an hour or so, I went to go wash my face off and calm down by reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The story had always made me so happy. It was so fun to imagine being put into a world where nothing makes sense and that's completely okay, because, in a way, that was my life. If you were speaking in terms of science, I should have died hundreds of years ago.

Considering all the years I had walked the earth, I really did consider myself grown up most of the time; but in the back of my mind, I was sure that wasn't true. No one had ever taught me anything. My mother taught me to read when I was very young, and teachers taught me things from books, but no one ever taught me things like how to set a table or what to say in a complicated situation. Most things I just picked up over time or was a natural talent, but there were still a lot of things missing from my knowledge. Like how to start a campfire, how to raise a family, how to deal with siblings, or how to love and trust other people. That was a big one, one thing that I still had a lot of trouble with was trusting people because most times I felt like I had to take care of myself. No one was allowed to help me.

I was just starting my homework when Katie walked in. I was really grateful to have a friend like Katie. I'd never had someone like her before, someone I just automatically connected with.

"Hey, Natalie. What happened today? I mean, I understand it was your first day, I just want to know what made you so upset. Maybe I can help." She was always so sweet to me.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now, but I'll tell you tonight, kay?" I looked over and smiled at her. I really didn't want to talk about it, though. I had just _finished_ crying.

"Okay!" She said brightly, "By the way, you might want to be on the lookout tomorrow, Mr. Derik was badmouthing that you ditched class on your first day, so I kind of flipped out on him because you were obviously upset and he really doesn't know anything" Both of us started to laugh while Katie gave me a play-by-play of what she had said to the teacher. I really did love her.

We both finished our homework and went downstairs to go get some coffee and just watch television for a while. We found some hilarious reality show and the coffee almost came out both of our noses. Then we ate dinner, and by the time we were getting ready to go to bed, I had almost forgotten how upset I'd been today when Katie came up to me and asked "Can we talk now?"

"Yeah, I did promise you later tonight." We both snuggled up on my bed and I told her almost everything. I told her how I knew that my father's name was Carlisle Cullen, but he didn't even know if I was alive. I told her how it kind of hurt to see he had adopted kids and didn't take care of his own daughter (even though I was well aware of what those 'kids' were and that my dad didn't really know I wasn't in a cemetery somewhere). Then I told her the worst part, that I was afraid of telling my father, in fear that he wouldn't want me. By the end, we were both crying.

"Oh, Natalie! I'm so sorry! I had no idea. Sometimes I imagine seeing my father again but I know that won't happen. I don't know what would happen if I did!" she whispered.

"Katie, I hope you don't mind me asking, but, what happened to your parents?" I did not especially want to bring it up, but I felt like it would bring us closer together.

"They're in the same place your mother is, Natalie. They died when I was six. I was an only child, so I had nowhere else to go." Surprisingly, this didn't make her cry harder than she had before like I imagined it would.

"Oh. Katie, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have said anything." I just looked at a spot on the comforter.

"Why?" she asked, "I'm not sorry. Yeah, sometimes I wish that I could be with them still, but I've been lucky enough to not move around to a lot of foster homes and I know that they're in a better place. Plus, if my parents hadn't died, I probably wouldn't have ever met you before." I just stared at her in awe. This girl had never made me feel so loved. Part of the reason she was okay with her parents being in a hole in the ground was because she was now sisters with me.

I simply started to cry more. I had never felt so much love in all of my lives. "Thank you, Katie" I whispered. We simply sat crying tears of joy that they had each other now.

"Just out of curiosity, how many times have you moved foster homes?" I asked.

"Two," she answered. Only two?

"Oh," was all I could say. How had she managed to only be in two foster homes? Natalie was moved almost every year.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Oh, I've moved foster homes every year for as long as I can remember. I've never really been able to stay in one place for a long time.

"Every year?" she asked, "no wonder it's been so hard for you." Katie looked at Natalie like she was considering telling her something, and after a few minutes decided to tell her what she had been thinking about.

"Want to know a secret?" she asked, her eyes getting just a little bit brighter.

"Always!" I smiled back.

"Last night, I went downstairs to get some water and I heard Beth and Vincent talking, they didn't hear me, so I hid in the hallway, anyways, they want to adopt us!" she whispered excitedly.

"Really?" I asked. No one had ever wanted to adopt me. Katie just nodded.

"I mean, if for some psychotic reason your dad doesn't want you, which he will by the way, we'll all be a family!"

We just talked and gossiped a little longer until we both fell asleep on my bed.

**A/N: I wrote it first person! Please review and tell me if you like it more/less than the other way. If I get people telling me they liked it the old way better, I'll go back to writing in third person point-of-view. Anyways, like always, thank you so much for reading and reviews are always read excitedly and happily…love them! Thanks again!**

**P.S. Two things I forgot to mention: One, I was constantly finding myself referring to Natalie as she and Natalie, not I and my, so if you see a few mistakes, please forgive me. Writing in first person is pretty new to me (I've played around and wrote like, 1 paragraph before) Second, I couldn't remember if I had given Natalie and Katie's foster dad a name and I don't think I did, but **_**if**_** I did then just forget about it and remember him as Vincent from now on. Love Y'all!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Natalie's Point of View_

The next morning, I was over my fear of telling my father. Even if he really didn't want me, he had the right to know. Today was already looking much better than the day before, and she kept repeating _Que sara, sara_ in my mind until I truly believed the statement. Everyone could tell my mood was lifted, I dressed like my usual self and even dressed up a little bit more with some sparkly pumps.

School passed somewhat like the day before until lunch, where I stayed in the large cafeteria talking to students about the places I had gone. Of course I didn't tell them the full extent, I kept it to the places I'd visited in this life. All the while one of the adopted Cullen kids just looked at me, although I couldn't tell if it was in awe or curiosity. Oh, well, I just continued to pretend like it was a completely normal thing to do to someone.

As it turns out, Katie was right about Mr. Derik. He glared at me for a moment before changing the look into a smile, which was obviously forced. I sat next to the same boy that was staring at me during lunch, well, man. Boy-man? How should I refer to him! I kept my mind busy with these thoughts up until the very end of class when I noticed I had not taken any notes on the teacher's lecture. _That's okay,_ I thought, _Katie will let me borrow hers._ The last hour was possibly the hardest as I waited for the opportunity to tell my father what was going on.

After school was finally over, Beth came to pick us up and Katie and I explained to her the basics of what was going on. Pretty much all she knew was that my father didn't know I was alive and he lived here in town. We eventually came up with the plan that I should go tell him as soon as possible and the best place to start was his work.

As we arrived at the hospital, Beth tried, yet again, to persuade me to let her come with me, but I needed this to be private. We would be discussing things that neither Beth nor my sister Katie could understand.

"Well, call me as soon as you done, okay?" she gave up. The look on my face made it obvious the only people that were going to be a part of this were my father and I.

"Okay" I agreed, although I was making no promises to be coming home later. As I made my way through the sliding glass doors, the receptionist gave me a strange look. Nothing appeared to be wrong with me, and I wasn't with anybody. I just put on the biggest smile I could and said in the uttermost polite tone I could imagine "Could you please tell me where Dr. Cullen's office is?"

"Sorry, no. That isn't information for the public to know" she did in fact look a little sorry, but never mind. I had to make contact with this man.

"Please, I believe he's expecting me." I lied, actually, it was quite the opposite.

"Could you give me your name so I could ask him?" she smiled, clearly thinking that she was helping me, but that wasn't right. I had to be the one to tell him, not a nurse who looked highly bored with her job.

Maybe a different angle would work. "Miss, what would you say if you had the opportunity to meet your father who doesn't know you exist? Wouldn't you want to encourage a relationship between the two of you?" I asked. Pathos, works every time.

"I suppose that would change the situation." She looked really sorry for me, and I felt a little bad I had made anyone feel anything other than happy, I never like to be a Negative Nelly.

"Well, fairytales usually start out sad, don't they? The situation will be resolved quickly." I smiled again and she returned one almost as wide.

"Through those doors, go all the way down the hall and make a right. Go through _those _doors and the third door down on the left is his. Good luck." She smiled. I had to admit, she was not extremely good at keeping secrets, oh well, it turned out in my favor this time.

"Thank you… I never got your name, I'm sorry."

"It's Carmen and your welcome."

This was it. The moment that her mother had died for years ago, the moment that she got to fulfill this prophecy of sorts. She found the correct door and took a deep breath before slowly tuning the handle. She peeked in, and no one was there.

**A/N: Haha! You thought she was going to meet Carlisle, huh? Anyways, I know this chapter isn't excellent and originally, she was going to meet Carlisle, but it couldn't be the next morning she was just magically in his office, and I wanted to have an entire chapter for the big moment. Also, next chapter might be half Natalie's point of view and half Carlisle's, just a head's up. As always, I love you all so much and I hope you enjoy it! (Reviews are also thoroughly enjoyed every time I receive one! **

**P.S. If you don't know what I meant by saying "Pathos works every time", pathos is a form of persuasion that uses emotion as a point. Kind of like, why should you get a dog from a shelter? Because many of them are put down every day. Didn't that make you sad? It's my buddy, pathos. Who liked my mini English lesson?**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Natalie's Point of View_

I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I simply waited in his office. I would not go home before he knew. My father had to know that I was still alive after 300 something years and I had searched the globe for him. But even more than these things, I had to know if he loved me. If he really cherished me anymore, if what my mother said in those diaries were true.

His office didn't have diplomas all over the walls like they did in movies, it was simpler than that. There was an oak desk with a telephone on it and one of those cushy chairs that spins. Pictures were scattered everywhere. One with him and his wife, one with all the Cullen kids, another candid shot of the boys playing video games. All the sudden, the fear came creeping back to me.

What was I _doing_ here? He had a family, a family that he was clearly happy with. I shouldn't be intruding on the life he had created. He made due and it turned out in his favor, I wasn't meant to belong in his life…_nature_ didn't want me in his life.

_Calm down, Natalie,_ I thought. _You don't know that for sure and if it turns out to be true, then you have foster parents that want to adopt you. _Then again, Foster parents are not what I wanted. All I could do now was pray that he really, truly did want to know his daughter, want to know me.

After thirty minutes or so, she could hear footsteps in the hall. When they began to slow near the door, she took a few calming breaths trying so hard to settle her nerves. Any minute now she would have her answer, any minute she would know if her hopes were to come true.

_Carlisle's Point of View_

It was time for my break after I had taken care of a young girl who had fainted and hit her head. Poor girl, it really must have hurt, cracking her head open on her entertainment system. As I headed toward my office I realized that a quiet heartbeat could be traced to where my office was and there was an unfamiliar scent. I ignored it for the time being, at a human pace, it would still take a minute or so to get there and I wasn't absolutely sure it was my office. I just thought about yesterday.

I still didn't fully believe my wife, that my daughter was here, in Forks. How could that be possible? His daughter was born in the sixteen hundreds, how could she be alive now in 2012? However, his children's description of her did seem very accurate, maybe she had a child?

"Dr. Cullen?" I heard one of the nurses, Carmen, ask.

"Yes Carmen?" I smiled, which immediately stunned her momentarily.

"A girl came in here looking for you; she's waiting in your office. I tried to get her to wait but she's shockingly persuasive." She said, almost dazed remembering the girl.

"That's quite alright, Carmen. Was there anything else?" She _looked _like there was something else, like a secret of sorts, but she simply shook her head and said "Goodbye, Dr. Cullen."

Apparently there was someone in his office. Strange. He rounded the corner and walked through the swinging doors. _I wonder who it is._ He turned the handle of his door and almost shocked when he saw the face.

It had to be her. His little girl. The eyes were too close to perfect, and the hair had just the perfect balance of red and blonde. There was no other option.

"Hello," she said, she had the sweetest smile, and her eyes just got a tad more wet…her beautiful blue eyes.

"Are you who I think you are?" I asked, stunned. How was this possible? It _wasn't _possible. His baby girl was here. All those years of grieving suddenly seemed not so depressing anymore because she was here.

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here. Well, more like _how _I'm here." She continued. I took that as a yes; yes this was in fact his angel of a biological child.

"Yes, I was." She just nodded and took a deep breath. I felt like I was about to cry. Hundreds of years I had wished to see my daughter again, and my wish had come true.

"Well it's kind of hard to explain and really psychotic, but since you're a vampire, I guess that doesn't mean much to you."

I just stared at her. How did she know I was a vampire? Obviously I wasn't human, but when had she made the connection that I was a 'creature of the night'?

"Mother told me, in her last letter to me." My face must have been an open book because I hadn't spoken since she agreed to explain. "I guess that's where the story starts," she sighed, "after you 'died' and Mother knew what you were, she went to a witch in the city. It was said that she was one of the most powerful witches England knew. Her name was, it was…" they both breathed "Raindon" at the same time. I had hunted her before. Natalie just continued as if nothing had happened, she must have known my past then, "Anyways, Mother went to her and struck a deal. If she gave up her life by lightning, Raindon's strongest element, then I could live young enough and healthy enough to meet you one day. She explained all of this too me in her letter, and then she said that when I turned 25 I would die when I went to bed that night, and wake up the next morning in a different place. When I first read it I thought she meant heaven, but clearly that wasn't right. When the time came, I did die in my sleep that night and I awoke in a very strange town, a place I didn't recognize."

"I was so scared," she continued. "But then I found out I was in Paris, some town in the very southern part, I don't remember the name. Ever since then the same cycle has kept repeating and I've lived in more foster homes that you can count." Her face fell. She didn't like being a part of the system, who would? I felt so sorry that I had caused her to hurt so much for so many years. Then she said very quietly, practically a whisper, "I can understand if you don't want me, you've created a beautiful life of your own. I just thought you had the right to know, I would want to."

I was shocked. More than anything I wanted to take this girl home with me and find out every minor detail about her. I wanted to hold and protect her from anything that could possibly happen to her, I had always wanted her. "Natalie, honey? I've wanted to have the privilege of being your father since the day I left for the protection of you and your mother" It was true, if anything it was an understatement.

"Really?" the tears that had been brewing in her eyes started to spill over. He wanted to take her home immediately, to start raising her after 345 years of not being able to; of course, he had to explain to his family first. His children were still unaware that he had actually had a real daughter.

"Why would you say that? Of course I would want to take care of you, you are my daughter Natalie."

"Well," she began to answer, "After so many years of living with strangers who only felt sorry for you, it's kind of strange to think someone actually wants me."

I highly doubted no one had ever wanted my daughter; she was completely perfect, and not just to him. "I'll tell you what," I said "as soon as I can get things at home figured out, I will take custody over you and you can come live with me." This sounded like a dream come true.

"Thank you" she cried. We talked a little longer about our plans until I realized the time. It had been two hours since I found her, who knew how long she had been waiting before that.

"Natalie, I'm going to take you back to your foster parents for tonight while I start to work things out, okay?" She nodded into my chest.

The ride home was quiet, and I wondered what she was thinking about. It looked like she was trying to figure out the answer to something. When I pulled up to her home, she finally voiced what had been on her mind. "Carlisle?" she spoke softly.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Did I have a middle name?" My sorrow for my only daughter spiraled. She didn't know her own name!

"It's Lynn," I said.

"Natalie Lynn Cullen," she whispered, testing it out, "I like it." She said happily.

We both got out of the car and walked up to the front door. After she saw her friend, Katie my son had told me, I went to the living room to talk with her parents about taking my daughter into my care. For one moment, I felt like I was on top of the world.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I know there were a lot of mistakes in the last chapter, that is because I accidently uploaded the one that was not proofread, if it's really bothering you, review and I will enter the proofread version to a different file on . Btw…I am making the story up as I go along and each chapter is just what happens to go on in my brain, I only proofread them once, so there are probably quite a few mistakes.**

Chapter 10

_Carlisle Point of View_

After I was done speaking to Natalie's foster parents, I drove home more giddy than I had been since I married Esme. As I pulled up the drive I was thinking about having a family meeting so Edward would gather the family in the dining room. Sure enough, when I walked in they were all there, waiting.

"Hello, family. I have something very urgent I need to talk to you all about." I said, it was hard to not just come right out and yell, 'I have a human daughter that's going to come live with us!'—which is what I wanted to do, but I needed to do this gently. Alice was beaming at me , already knowing what was going to happen, Edward just looked confused. "When I was human" I continued, "I had a wife and a daughter, after my wife found out what I had become, she made a deal with a witch." _This was so hard!_ "As it turns out, that deal has made it possible for my daughter to remain a human young adult until now. "

"Wait," Emmett said, "who is it?"

"Oh, _come on_ Emmett! Can't you guess?" Alice never did understand how hard things can be without knowing the future.

He just concentrated really hard for a moment before saying "Nope, I have no clue."

"My daughter," I interrupted before Alice could take my big line, "Is Natalie, the girl that lives with foster parents at the moment. I would like very much if you would all accept her and allow her to come live with us. Keep in mind that she had been going from foster home to foster home since they have existed and has never had any parental figures. I would like to be that person." I finished.

_Edward's Point of View_

Now this, I did not see coming. Carlisle's daughter? A witch? What was the supernatural world coming to? No matter, he was happy to have the girl come stay with them, she seemed very sweet and he really did feel bad that she had never had parents. She almost seemed like a light in his life, even though he had only known her for a very short time. She was a light in everyone's life. The other's thoughts seemed to be in sync with his:

Esme was ecstatic not only for her husband, but for herself. _Oh, I'm so happy for Carlisle! And it's such a blessing to me, I could finally be a mother!_

Alice was of course thinking about having a shopping buddy, _A little sister! I could dress her up in good looking clothes and do her makeup, she seems like she enjoys those kinds of things._

Emmett and Jasper were both thinking about how it would be cool to have a baby sister, of course Emmett was mostly wondering if she played Call of Duty.

Even Rosalie seemed happy about it, _If I can't have a baby, a baby sister will do. We could talk about boys and school. This could be perfect!_

Carlisle cleared his throat, seeming nervous. Did he really think that we would say no to such an opportunity, especially for him, it must be so hard to consider you can't take your own daughter in. "What do you all think?"

Everyone simultaneously said yes. It looked like we were going to have a new human around the house.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, I just kind of wanted the decision making part out of the way so I could move on to more fun stuff between Carlisle and Natalie. I have a few funny things up my sleeve, (at least I think they are funny) Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Natalie's Point of View_

The week passed slowly as I waited for me to legally belong to my father. Every day I went to go see him and we would talk. He started to find out little things about me while I found out he was just like how my mother described him. He was kind and loving, and selfless. Everything he did was for others. I loved him.

I wanted to tell Katie all about it, but I never did. I felt so bad, that I had found my father and she could never have that opportunity. At the same time though, the only emotion she ever showed toward my stories about my dad and I was excitement. Katie really was like a sister to her.

Then the day finally came, the day I got to go live with him and his family. I was taping up the last few of my boxes when Beth and Vincent came in with tears in their eyes, even though they had only known me a couple weeks.

"Awww, you guys!" I said, tearing up as well.

"We'll miss you, Natalie. Remember you're always welcome here." Vincent's voice was just a little bit shaky.

"Thank you. Beth, are you sure you want me taking all of this stuff?" I asked, pointing to the boxes.

"Oh, honey of course. All of it suits your personality best, anyways." She smiled at me. This last set really had been some of the best foster parents I had ever had. But I was going to go live with my real father. Eeek! I was so happy right now.

Katie came up to me crying. "I can't believe my sister's ditching me." She said, trying to sound sarcastic, but really just sounding hurt.

"We'll still hang out all the time." I promised. I meant it too. We were sort of a package deal now, even if I wasn't going to live with her, she would still be with me _all the time._

"You be sure of that." She looked at me with a look I could only imagine was meant to be stern, but again, the only thing I could pick up was hurt.

Finally there was a knock at the door as I ran downstairs to get it, taking a box with me. My foster family followed with the rest. I somewhat threw the box in my haste to open the door. All that was in there anyway were clothes. I yanked open the door and saw my father and his wife standing under the porch light smiling warmly. I hugged both of them and then noticed the others behind them.

"Natalie," my father said, as if on cue, "These are our other adopted children. "Edward, Emmett, Alice, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale." They all smiled as I went around hugging them. I was going to love being a part of this family.

"Welcome to the family, baby sister" Emmett said to me.

I backed away with possibly the biggest smile on my face possible and said, "Everyone, this is my foster family: Beth, Vincent and practically my sister Katie"

They all greeted my current foster family and I heard Carlisle thanking them for taking care of me. _He really does care about me_ I couldn't help but think again.

Everyone helped to load my boxes into a huge Jeep that they had brought and after only ten minutes I went up to Beth, Vincent, and Katie for my second round of goodbyes. We were all crying by that point. Katie told me to call her as soon as I wanted help unpacking. Not being around Katie all the time was definitely going to be the hardest part.

After I had shed my fair share of tears, Carlisle led me to a sleek Mercedes and I climbed into the back seat, the others were taking separate cars, so I had this time just between my father and new mother.

"Thank you so much." I whispered. I knew they could hear.

"For what?" Esme asked.

"Wanting to keep me. Like I told Carlisle before, I only said anything because I thought he had a right to know. I never dreamed, okay well I dreamed, but I never actually imagined this is how telling you would turn out." The tears made yet another appearance and Esme looked back at me.

"Honey, we wouldn't be able to say no to you. You're so special to us." She looked so sincere I couldn't doubt her like I always doubted my foster parents. She felt like my mother, even though I couldn't really remember her, this woman reminded her of the love I felt through my mother's letters.

After a short while, we pulled up to a colossal white house. I had never been within a five mile radius of such a building. As I stepped out of the car staring, Rosalie came up to me, "What do you think?" she asked, smiling.

"It's so big and pretty and…_big." _They all laughed at me, but it was big deal in my head. I'd never had very much money, now I was going to live in a house that would make Donald Trump jealous? It was almost unreal.

"I'm glad you like it," Esme said with a smile. "Now I suppose we should show you your room."

"My room?" I had only given my father a few weeks warning. How could they have prepared a room? But then I realized that there were probably a multitude of extra guest rooms in the giant the Cullens called a house. _Cullen,_ I smiled at my new last name, I had been waiting hundreds of years to use it.

We went upstairs and made our way down one of the many halls. When we turned a final corner and headed towards a door when Alice came up behind me and covered my eyes.

"What's that for?" I asked. It was only a guest room. White walls, plain comforter, at least that's how I imagined it.

"It has to be a surprise! Now keep in mind, none of us really knew you, except Carlisle, so we were going with our gut and the little information Carlisle gave us." She moved her hands and I gasped in shock. It was so…_perfect_.

The walls were a faded pink, like the ones in the room Katie and I shared. The far wall was one giant window, but covered in lace curtains with gray drapes in front of them that were swooped back. All the furniture was black. The big bed had a floral pattern comforter that she loved. There was a vanity in the corner and a desk along the opposite wall of the window. There was also a large bookcase that held all sorts of books and knick-knacks that were so adorable.

"It's perfect," I said, "but there are a couple of things missing." I went downstairs and opened up one of the boxes. I pulled out a teddy bear, one of the first created, and put it on my bed; I also brought up my old copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the fairytale book.

Carlisle gasped when he saw the book. I completely understood. What had caused me to carry around a book meant for children for 300 years? But it was important to me, that book had reminded me that my father was out there, and one day he would once again raise me.

The others asked Carlisle and I what was special about it, and my father explained that this was the book he and my mother read to me as a child. I started to cry when I thought about how we would have looked the three of us snuggled up reading about the different dream-like scenarios.

They all hugged me and we talked for a little while, starting the process of rejoining a broken family.

**A/N: As I've said before, almost all of these chapters are just what I write in my free time, I don't do a lot of editing so if there's a bunch of mistakes, I'm so sorry. Usually I would be much more careful with my work, but my schedule's been busy and at this point I'm just trying to get the story updated, not so much perfected. If you're wondering about what the room looked like, it was inspired by my personal room, it's kind of hard to describe, but the drapes are hung on a double-rod, so that's how the grey ones are in front of the lace. As always, I love y'all so much for reading! Reviews are always appreciated and adored!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning: Although almost every part of my story is appropriate for children, this chapter contains conversation about more mature concepts such as self-mutilation and eating disorders. It is not graphic and does not occur, but there is a conversation about it.**

Chapter 12-

_Natalie's Point of View_

A few days had passed since I first stepped foot into my father's secret mansion. I had tried to keep his fortune very low-key for Katie, but of course that failed. I couldn't help it, she was my best friend. Also, it was extremely easy to tell the first time she came over, I simply confirmed it. She was in my room now; we were talking as I finished unpacking the last few things. I had really taken my time. I don't know why, but I felt like any day now, my dad was going to come in and tell me to leave again. I don't think he ever would, I just wanted to be cautious until the feeling had passed.

"Really, Natalie. What has been bothering you so much? Don't tell me 'nothing' again because it's so obviously something. It would be more discreet to write it on your forehead in sharpie."

She had me there; I hadn't plastered a fake smile on my face to try to cover it up like I usually did. "I just feel like, I don't know, like one of these days he's going to decide he didn't want me after all and I'm going to be hurt over it so I'd just rather just not get close to him…but I really want to. I want to tell him all my problems and let him comfort me; I just don't want to put all my faith in him until I know he wouldn't ever give me up." This was hard to admit. It felt like I was a drama queen all the time, but it was true. I had already been down the self-loathing road once and it was next to impossible to get out of, sometimes I still felt that way, I didn't want to risk it unnecessarily.

"Oh, come _on_, Natalie. I know this is hard for you, but he can't help you if you don't tell him. Have you told him anything?" she asked, grabbing my arm and moving my sleeve to reveal the scars of the wounds that had long healed but left their mark.

"No." I said quietly. Why should I? It would just be more drama caused by me. Plus, I was worried that if I told him, he would assume that the scars were his fault, which they somewhat were, but barely.

"Natalie, how often do you think of trying that again? Any of it?" Not this again. A lot of people had already gone out of their way to make sure I was not going to jump off a cliff or do anything irrational, but she couldn't help it, she did think of it quite often.

"Never." I answered quickly before I realized that it probably sounded like a lie.

"Really, so if I were to read this book…" she snatched up my diary too quickly for me to block her way. I almost knocked her over fighting for it back. I would have, if it had come to that. "Calm down, I wasn't going to read it, you just proved what I had guessed."

"Not really!" I said back, more like yelled. It was a good thing no one was home. "_Maybe_ I just like to keep my private thoughts private."

"That's a lie and you know it Natalie Cullen! We've already shared everything together except you've kept back one huge detail! You still think about cutting and anorexia and suicide! You still think things that would ruin everyone that loves you!"

All I could do was cry. I wasn't mad at her for making the connection, she was my sister and deep down I knew she was only saying those things because she cared about me.

"Natalie, you know I would never do anything to hurt my sister, especially blackmail, but if you don't tell him in three days…I will. You at least need to talk to your _father_ of all people. It hurts to know you still feel those things sometimes, and I don't get why you do."

We just sat hugging on my bed while I cried for a few minutes longer. After a little while I whispered okay and Katie just smiled at me. I went to go wash my face and then we went to go watch television. By the time Esme and Alice got home, I was back to feeling fine. Everyone but Carlisle and Edward was home when Beth came to pick Katie up at 10:30.

"Just remember what you promised, okay?" she whispered before heading out. I wouldn't, she was right. I would never have that father-daughter relationship with Carlisle if he didn't know about my past.

After she left, I looked at Esme who was giving me a questioning look. Actually, everyone in the room was giving me a weird look, oh yeah, vampire hearing. "It's nothing." I said, "But do you, by any chance, know when Carlisle is going to be home?"

"Any minute now" she smiled. But the curious look in her eyes never left. Darn vampires with their super-sensitive hearing! How would I ever talk to my father about these things if they were around!

Just as she predicted, headlights flashed in the window only a few minutes later and I sat on the couch, twiddling my thumbs in anticipation. This was going to be an interesting night.

My father walked in with a smile on his face with Edward walking right behind with a twin expression. My father came to sit next to me on the sofa, "How was your day?" he asked.

I did not want to do this right now! Curse Katie and her awesome sense of feelings! The last thing I had ever planned to tell my father was that I actually was a messed up teen with all sorts of emotional problems! Maybe those adults were actually right…but that wasn't the point right now!

"Actually, Carlisle, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone for a little bit." He nodded while the others immediately left through the back door. I wonder if they are going far enough not to hear this. Oh, well, my father had to know and Katie was _not _going to be the one to break it to him.

"What did you want to talk about, sweetie?" he asked in a soothing voice. It was almost soothing enough for me to calm down, almost.

"Well, I figured that for us to be really close, you would have to know everything that happened to me in the past…" I stopped, how do I say this? How do I tell my father that I hated what he loved so much?

"And?" he urged. There was just a hint of worry in his voice.

I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt and started to trace the scars, the word love that overlapped them seemed invisible right now, and my father gasped beside me. I was ashamed in a way, but even after my limited death, the scars never disappeared.

"Honey, what all happened?" there was obvious worry in his voice, but I could also pick up what I could only think of as grief.

"Well, there was a time a little while ago, when I...when I…"I couldn't go on, my voice cracked and my breath caught. I had never wanted my father to know about these things.

"When you…" he prodded.

"Hated myself." I cried, I could not hold the tears back. "I thought that I wasn't good enough for you, or anybody. I thought no one had ever wanted to adopt me because I wasn't pretty enough. So I stopped eating, but then I was so hungry I'd binge, but then I was mad at myself so I'd cut and…and…" I had said this all in one breath, hoping to get it over with quickly, like ripping off a band aid. It was clear now that this was going to be nothing like that.

"Hated yourself?" He sounded as if he were crying, "Honey, believe me that if I had known you were out there somewhere, if I had even thought that there was a _possibility_ you were still alive, I would have gone looking for you and not stopped until I had found you."

"Really?" I asked through the tears.

"Really." He said looking at me with a smile. "Honey, every year, on your birthday, I would grieve, _wishing_ that I could see you again. Now that you're back in my life, I will _never_ give you up. Ever."

I cried tears of joy then because I felt sincerity in every word he said.

"Just out of curiosity," he continued, "why did you tell me now? You don't still feel that way do you? You would never—try anything right?"

"Sometimes I do, but no. I would never go back there, at least, not as long as I could help it."

He just held me tight for a little bit while I let the tears that I had been holding back out. I felt so happy that he knew everything, so free. I felt like I could finally have that perfect relationship I'd been dreaming of since day one.

"Thank you, Katie" I whispered before I fell asleep in my Daddy's arms.

**A/N: Like I said before the chapter started, I'm sorry if it was not all fluff and stuff like that, but I felt like the fact that Natalie had some "issues" before had to be addressed with her father and would also make her and her father grow closer. Plus, it made Natalie seem a little but more like she needed some guidance, which was perfect since that's essentially why Carlisle is there. I don't think I'll be posting more chapters until I get at least a couple reviews since I want to be sure people are enjoying what I write. Also, if there is a moment you want to see between Carlisle and Natalie, comment below and I'll try to find a spot for it, of course you will be given credit(: Love y'all!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Carlisle's Point of View_

It had been a few days since Natalie had told me about her past, and I had to admit, we had started to grow a little closer. She had started calling me 'Dad' instead of 'Carlisle' and if I thought we talked a lot before, I was mistaken. Every day she told me what had happened and her thoughts on different things, and I began to realize how insightful she could be. But for every insightful thing she said, there was usually a note of the usual teenage drama you heard about from other parents of teens I had conversed with for so many years.

I really was a little worried about her though, what parent wouldn't be? I worried a lot about the possibilities of her slipping back into her old habits and getting hurt. However, that was not very likely considering now there was a houseful of vampires looking out for her. I did feel guilty for telling the others without Natalie knowing yet, but Edward would have figured it out anyway and if there was any chance of her trying anything like that again, I wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to happen, they could help me. I thought again about having her talk to somebody, but that wasn't likely to happen. Even though she had opened up, she was still incredibly independent.

I needed to get my mind off these things, if I didn't I would end up becoming over protective, and though I was on the inside, I did not want her to know that. I reflected more on the things I had learned about my beautiful child in the last few days. The night she told me I found out she occasionally talked in her sleep. More like mumbled, it was unbelievably quiet. But it had a very subtle country drawl to it that I found incredibly strange, the girl had been born and raised in England…where had she picked up an American accent? She loved to read, and whenever she couldn't sleep she either read the storybook her mother and I had read to her or Alice in Wonderland. I couldn't help but wonder what the draw to the second book was. The story book I could, it had sentimental value, but why the story about a girl who had the strangest dreams in recorded history? Never mind that though, I would have to find out some other time, Natalie was asleep in her bed by now; it was almost an hour after midnight.

Just then I heard her heart slightly accelerate, which meant she was awake, but why? I went to go check on her but then I heard her whispers, probably trying to make the rest of us assume she was asleep, but it was obvious to mine and my family's sensitive hearing.

She was reading to herself, one of the stories that she had read since she was a child. She must have them memorized by now, but it appeared that they had a calming effect on her. I knocked on her door softly. "May I come in?" I asked.

"Sure, Daddy" she replied. My heart melted, Daddy, she had never called me that before.

"What are you doing awake? You have school tomorrow," I reminded her, although she never got much sleep, I was trying to change this, her sleeping habits made her appear like the walking dead in the morning.

"I couldn't sleep. Whenever I do…I don't know, I've just never been the best sleeper, it's hard. I feel like, paranoid. Katie made it better, but I don't live with her anymore so it's back to being weird and—"

She had spit it out in a hurry to explain, I shushed her. I wasn't mad or anything, just wanted to help her. One word had stuck out to me though, _paranoid._ Why would she be paranoid, she was perfectly safe, overly safe actually. I would give anything to be able to understand my daughter; she always had the most interesting viewpoints.

I walked up to her bed while she moved over and patted the spot next to her, obviously inviting me to sit with her. I did and she set the book aside and rested her head on my arm.

"Why were you paranoid?" I asked.

"Well, I guess it's not as much paranoid as it is scared." She said, her voice shaking slightly.

Scared? Of what? If anything even came close to hurting her, my entire family would immediately protect her, they all already loved her. "What are you scared of?" I tried to make my voice soothing and absentmindedly started stroking her hair. I had done that to her mother whenever she was frightened or worried. When I thought of her mother, something clicked. Her mother had been afraid of the dark, it was never rational, but everyone had at least one irrational fear.

"You'll laugh at me…" she said quietly. That made me almost positive I knew her fear as well, why would I laugh at anything that scared her, but I could see her point of view.

"I would never laugh at something that scared you, Natalie" I promised her.

"Well, I've always been…kind of…afraid of the dark" she rushed the last part of her sentence.

"Just like your mother" I whispered in her ear. There had been several occasions when I had to calm her mother down in the middle of the night. Sometimes I would stay up longer even after she was resting comfortably again to make sure she was okay. It had actually pained me to see her scared.

"Mom was afraid of the dark?" Natalie asked.

"Yes," I answered simply, "but then she would realize there was nothing to be afraid of and fall back to sleep again." I hoped that soothed her, knowing that it was a natural thing to feel.

"That happens to me a lot," she admitted, "usually I read until I can't stay awake anymore, sometimes I imagine it's you or mom reading like you did when I was really little."

With that, I took the book off the bed then and began to read to her. The story was quite a familiar one. It was about magical beings, witches, the good and the bad ones and one particular good one that would grant wishes to those that needed help or led sad lives filled with disease or death. My father had hated this story, but almost the rest of the population in our city found it quite amusing and hopeful.

By the time the story was over, Natalie was fast asleep. He loved her so much, and was so happy to see her sleeping soundly, even if it was only a small thing that helped her.

**A/N: Hey Everyone! I'm so sorry; I was planning on updating sooner, but my schedules really busy again so I'll try my best! Also, this is a straight up one-shot. No editing, re-reading, nothing because it's late-ish at night and I still have stuff to do(: ooops…anyways, I know this is just fluff between Carlisle and Natalie, but I figured it would make up for last chapter. See my reasoning—**_**Chapter 12-no fluff, Chapter 13-all fluff. They both have 50/50 fluff and serious now!**_** Anyways I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for reading and (as always) reviews are always anticipated and read with love!**

**P.S. I know that this chapter seems kind of armature-ish, I'm just playing around with different ideas without fully developing them first, I can already tell this isn't going to work out in my favor but oh well(:**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I am so so so so so so so sorry! Please don't hate me, but my schedules been so busy it's hard to find time to update. Love you all for sticking around and I swear I'm not done writing…please keep reading!**

Chapter 14

_Carlisle's Point of View_

I was driving home from work when I couldn't help but think again of Natalie. As the weeks progressed my daughter began to amaze me more and more. She seemed to have inherited her mother's grace and charm. She immediately received the attention of every member of the room when she entered, yet never showed any signs of cockiness. She instantly made everyone feel comfortable and even if she had only known them for a few short minutes, could have a conversation that sounded as if she was old friends with the other. Every human and non-human alike for that matter adored her. It was as if she could hypnotize people. My other adopted 'children' were always talking about how sociable she was at school and it seemed like every day she made a new friend. Pretty soon the small town would not have enough people to be friends with.

Her beauty and her smile only encouraged the others more. One look into her glittering eyes and you couldn't help but agree with everything the girl said. I swear she could ask me to do something completely crazy, but if I looked into her eyes I would be a goner. She was more graceful than any human I had ever met, some vampires too. I actually just found out a while ago she was a dancer, quite an amazing one at that. I had yet to find one thing the girl had not tried and succeeded doing.

All of these wonderful qualities worried me though. Every five minutes the house phone would ring with a boy desperate to go out on a date with her. When it didn't go off, her cell phone did. I honestly wouldn't find it shocking if someone couldn't get a call through to our home on a regular basis. However, my beautiful Natalie had not said yes to a single one of them. Of course she declined in an extremely polite manner that probably left the suitors more charmed than before the rejection, but I couldn't figure out why. When I finally asked her about it she told me that there was one particular boy that she was interested in who had yet to return that same interest. I was in shock, to say the least. I was almost positive that every boy at Forks High School had called her multiple times hoping she would accept their offers, but apparently not.

I let it slide off my back. I was most definitely not going to get upset that she was not going on a date every other night. Katie, on the other hand, was with her all the time. Every day for long periods of time. The two were practically sewn together at the hip. I was really happy she had such a good, close friend, but was also a little worried. We couldn't stay in Forks forever, what would happen when it came time to leave? Alice and Rosalie had also grown close to Natalie, but it wasn't quite the same. They were both so protective of the angel that I could 100 percent understand why she wouldn't want them to be her sisters and best friends.

I was almost home now and was excited to see the angel's beautiful face. She really was an angel to me in every way. Not only was she the best gift my wife could possibly give me, but she defied laws of nature to stay with me in this immortal life I lived.

As I got closer to the house I could hear singing. Actually, the voice was so powerful that a human probably could have heard it. _Just one more thing to add to the list,_ I thought. It really shouldn't have surprised me. She was such a natural at everything else, why not this too. I entered quietly so she wouldn't stop, I really did enjoy listening to her. Then I found out I wasn't the only one. I walked upstairs and found the rest of the family sitting in the hallway outside the bathroom door listening to her. Rosalie immediately put a finger to her lips. I joined them on the floor and listened to my daughter's sweet voice.

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be with the trappings of love_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life._

_And rain falls angry on the tin roof_

_As we lie awake in my bed._

_You're my survival, you're my living proof._

_My love is alive and not dead._

_Tell me that we belong together._

_Dress it up, with the trappings of love._

_I'll be captivated,_

_I'll hang from your lips,_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above._

_I'll be your crying shoulder,_

_I'll be with the trappings of love,_

_I'll be better when I'm older,_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life._

As she went on, I couldn't help but wonder again at who she was waiting for. I was proud she was waiting for someone special but _who? _ The question was eating me up alive. The song ended and the water cut off. After a couple of minutes, she came out in sweats and everyone started clapping while she blushed. Emmett, being Emmett, of course embarrassed her by saying, "I didn't know you sing in the shower, Natalie. " After she blushed even deeper he added, "Well if you didn't want us to hear, how come you sing so loud?"

Rosalie told Emmett to shut up and Esme added after that she sings that loudly because she does it well, she's sharing her talents. Natalie started laughing at the more or less scolding Emmett was getting and yet again, I couldn't help but feel as though my family was now complete. Everything was perfect.

**A/N: Hey Everyone! It's another fluff chapter, I know, but I want to have a few more of these before we get into some serious stuff again. As always, I looooooooooooove reviews so please, be my guest. Compliments and constructive criticism always welcome(: Again, sorry it took so long to get up!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Again I am SOOOOO sorry it took so long to post this chapter…but I'm on Spring Break now (woo hoo!) so I'm going to try to post a lot this week… thanks so much to all of those who have remained patient and kept reading, I know it can be annoying but I'm really trying!**

Chapter 15

_Natalie's Point of View_

I have been living with my father for about a month, and it's driving me crazy that Edward hasn't shown any interest in me at all. I mean, I understand that it's a little weird considering he kind of considers my father to be his too, but he's not biologically related or anything! Oh, the joys of teenage drama. It's really quite strange actually. I never thought I'd see the day when this was once again my biggest concern: boys. Obviously I cared in my first life, but ever since then meeting my father had been my number one priority. Now that I have met him, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I have taken up so many of my old hobbies and even new ones but nothing seems to keep me busy enough. I started dancing again, and I'm now playing volleyball and cheerleading, not to mention just yesterday I decided to run for student body president after theater practice…the only reason being is I play a queen in the current production and it sounded fun having power, even if it wasn't real power.

The hardest part is that I keep thinking about the future even more than boys. Now that I've met my father, is the deal off? Will I die on my 25th birthday this time? And if not I actually have to decide what I want to do with my life. I mean, I've decided before, but if I ended up not liking it that was fine because I was only going to be in the business for 4 or 5 years anyway.

No matter what the circumstances, my mind has never been the type to concentrate on just one thing at a time. Even if I was going straight from cheerleading practice to theater rehearsals to dance lessons, there was still time in between to think. And I long ago mastered the art of multitasking. And the thought of an actual, permanent death is making it impossible be relaxed. Of course I don't show this side of me to anyone else, that's not who I am supposed to be. I am supposed to be the person that relaxes a room by entering and always has a smile, joke, laugh, or shoulder to cry on available. So instead of acting freaked out all the time, I act like my usual self in public and the second I'm alone for the night I panic about every tense thought that has passed my mind through the day and for five minutes go through torture.

_Am I going to die this time or not?_

_What do I want to do with my life?_

_Does this shirt look good with these shoes?_

_Where's Katie! I need to talk to her NOW and can't find her!—Oh, there she is…awkward moment…_

_Seriously though, what am I going to do?_

_Should I talk to my Dad about all this stuff?_

_Naw, I can handle this on my own._

_Maybe._

_I'M SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!_

_Why doesn't he like me!_

_What am I going to do?_

And as a result, I get around four hours of sleep a night and look like a zombie when my alarm clock goes off, so it's a good thing I am good at doing makeup. It's one of the strangest things that has ever happened to me… because I can be exhausted and ready to pass out, but every time I close my eyes another thought pops into my head.

It's Friday night and I was supposed to sleep over at Katie's while the family went hunting but, just my luck, Katie wasn't feeling well. Of course I felt bad for her, but I was severely depressed I was going to be by myself all weekend. The family offered to stay, but I plastered the same fake smile on my face that I usually do now and told them "of course I would be fine!" and "I'm not going to get in the way of your health!"(Jokingly of course). And apparently I am a much better actress than I thought because what I actually wanted to say was: "Thank you for not leaving because now I'm afraid of everything that moves and isn't human" and "I would rather you not hunt for a year than have you leave!"

I checked the alarm clock on the nightstand to my right, it was 4:30 in the morning and I couldn't sleep at all! I decided that I wasn't going to sit here and just accept inner turmoil any longer, I was at least going to go somewhere and face inner turmoil. Okay, that doesn't make much sense, but I wasn't going to get this monkey off my back either way and it seemed more productive to get out of the house. I could call my family but the probability of me still being willing to tell them when they got here was slim to none. I had to do something irrational and crazy and stupid right now just to get my mind off it.

I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs; I grabbed the keys to Alice's Porsche and got in the driver's seat. So, technically I'm not supposed to be doing this, but I've driven plenty of times before and I wasn't going to get in a crash. Without any real plans to go anywhere I started driving down the long drive and debating what my options were. I didn't want to go to a club of any sort first of all because they repulsed me and second because I wouldn't be allowed in. Most everything else was probably closed. I was about to turn around and go back home when I remembered that there was a a drag race course of sorts not too far away from Forks. It was a long stretch of rode deserted by regular drivers 99% of the time and constantly had cars and their drivers lined up waiting to race. I had secretly gone with Emmett a few times to watch, and always wanted to actually race it, but he said I couldn't because according to my nonexistent license I was too young.

Chances were that no one would be there, which I had no problem with; I just needed to drive my hectic feelings out—and fast. Surprisingly though, there were cars there. But no one was brave enough to go up against the champion of the night. Most of the people in the small crowd of spectators had a beer in hand and it didn't seem like the first of the night either, but the driver seemed sober, so I decided to give him a run for his money.

When I stepped out of the car there were a few low whistles and compliments were showered upon me, which did make me feel quite good…but I had a feeling that it had more to do with the fact that they were probably so drunk they couldn't tell you which way the sky was than the fact I actually looked that hot-because I really didn't.

I got out of my car and walked over to the most current winner and held up a hundred dollar bill that was technically supposed to be for food this weekend, but I had a good feeling I'd win, and if I didn't, there was plenty in the house already.

"I bet you can't beat me-your other wins were just beginner's luck after all" I said smirking as I slapped the bill onto the hood of his car while he just looked at me as if I was out of my mind. When he didn't reply I just kept going, "What, you're afraid you'll lose? Maybe racing me would be a bit much to handle…"

As soon as those words came out of my mouth he was no longer shocked, but determined to beat me. "Now hold on, little lady, I just thought you were kidding me, but apparently you actually think you know what you're doing."

"Know what I'm doing? What? Do I look stupid or something?" Okay, I had to admit I was sleep deprived and not ready to be referred to as young and stupid… plus I had a competitive side you wouldn't believe.

"I don't think you look stupid, just young." He pointed out. A group of semi-sober looking people started to edge closer behind him as he spoke.

"Well that's my business now isn't it? So you just go start your engine and get ready to lose." The more he pointed out how young I was, the more snarky I got, I think he started to realize that so he left and got ready for the race.

We both pulled up to the starting line and some random, hippy-looking girl held a green flag up in the air. The second it came down I was already pushing 60 mph going on 80. Within a minute I was nearing 120 mph and getting faster still, Rosalie must have boosted the engine because it wasn't having even the slightest problem. My competition was behind me, but I wasn't satisfied my how much so I gave up on keeping the speed of the car under pretty much any control and fully pressed down on the gas. We were coming up to the only turn which made me nervous only because he had the inside lane and if he didn't slow down at least a little bit we would no doubt crash, but there was no way I was backing down, so I just sent up a silent prayer I wouldn't die. He stomped on the brakes last minute and we were both spared from the terrible crash, but as I he started to gain speed he began gaining on me FAST.

We were so close to the end when I noticed something that told automatically told me I was going to lose. Not the race, just every freedom I may ever have. Three of the most beautiful people on the planet were standing in the crowd looking angrier than I had ever seen them. I considered slowing down therefore giving up on winning the race, but decided against it- they had already seen everything, even if I lost, they still would have seen me pushing a car that wasn't even mine close to 200 mph in a street race.

I crossed the finish line-which I had silently renamed the line of doom- half a second earlier than my opponent. I got out of the car, collected my money and walked with my head down towards the three members of my family. The entire crowd was cheering and boisterously requesting a rematch-except for those three. When I got there I looked up at the disappointed faces of Rosalie, Jasper, and my father.

**A/N: Soooooo…what do you think? Natalie finally acted like a normal teenager! It actually took a lot of planning for me to write this chapter just because there was so much in between the lines, so just in case you missed it, here it is: Natalie is slowly becoming used to being treated like a teenager instead of an adult. She's starting to realize that if she makes a mistake she isn't going to have to take serious consequences: like getting fired, living out on the street, a new group home, etc. And she's taking advantage of it. Like I mentioned in the story, she finally gets to deal with normal teenage dramas so she's feeling normal teenage emotions for the first time- which is making her a little rebellious(: I just think it's cool because after 300-something years of being an adult she can feel like a normal teen should…Anyways…not all of you know this (actually most of you don't) but it was recently my birthday and as a present I would really really really like reviews! IMPORTANT!: I really want to know what all of you think and how/what parts of the story you like…so if you really love me & my story…please give me 7 reviews by the time I post the next chapter!(: (7 is my lucky #)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I don't know what's going on with my internet but it decided to not work for a couple of days, but only on the computer that my story's on…grrrr! So anyways, I have some of the other chapters written so I'll upload them soon…so sorry for the delay!**

**A/N: So really quick, if you were wondering why I chose the people I did to show up at the drag race, here's why: First of all, I thought having both Esme and Carlisle there would be over kill. Then I chose Jasper instead of Emmett because Emmett is too much of a weirdo to take the situation seriously, I actually considered having him there, but he would probably just be high-fiving Natalie instead of taking it seriously like Jasper would. Alice always seemed more like the best friend than the older sister that would be disappointed in her younger sister (I'm not saying that she couldn't, just that Rosalie was maybe a little better suited to be there). Edward doesn't get to be a part of the group since Natalie's pretty much in love with him and that would be awkward. So do ya see how I chose the group now? One parent, one older brother, one older sister. Also THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS, FAVORITE AUTHOR AND FAVORITE STORIES! IT MADE ME SOOOOOOO HAPPY!(:**

Chapter 16

_Carlisle's Point of View_

It had been a couple of weeks since I last went hunting, and even though I didn't necessarily need it, I had been taking extra precautions lately to make sure that Natalie was as safe as possible. Natalie had been planning on being out this weekend so the whole family was going hunting. When her plans changed, Esme pretty much begged her to let one of us stay with her, but she was worried about being a burden to us. As if it was even possible! I felt bad for letting her stay home by herself all weekend but comforted myself by thinking that she was a good kid and knew how to take care of herself, she would be perfectly fine. And even if she wasn't, every member of my family had cell phones readily available to help Natalie with any bumps in the road.

Everything was going off without a hitch until Alice slipped into a vision that worried all of us when Jasper, Rosalie, and I all began to run back to Washington while the others would follow behind soon enough. I was so scared. My perfect little angel could get so hurt! What was she thinking! Did she not realize that she's human and how dangerous street races are? Why would she do something like that!

When we finally reached the track, it looked as if she and the other driver were about to crash into each other when he suddenly slammed on his brakes. I was extremely disappointed, to be honest. I know that my daughter is much brighter than this. Even if she was the legal age to drive, this still would not be an acceptable thing to do at any age! At least not for my daughter.

She was definitely pushing the car as fast as it would go. I know Rose had boosted the engine of this car for Alice. But it was meant for ALICE, who could run faster than the car could go anyway and who was virtually indestructible. I had to control the urge not to run up to the car, rip off the door, and take my daughter straight home and tuck her back into bed. Every three seconds I had to calm myself by chanting _'30 feet to go, 27 feet to go, 21 feet, 15 feet, 9 feet, 7 feet, 3 feet, just a foot left…'_

When the horrid race was finally over, my daughter timidly got out of the car, obviously acknowledging that we were here. I had to say I was pleasantly surprised by this. I knew my daughter well enough to know that she got extremely competitive when offered a challenge. She walked to the other driver to collect her winnings and solemnly turned to walk towards us. She looked as if she was walking the plank.

"I suppose you'll be wanting these then" she said, handing me the keys to the Porsche.

"The money too," I say while taking the keys. I held out my hand other hand as she hands me the $200 from the race. I put it in my pocket and head toward the car. Many of the drunken audience are commenting on how she's in trouble. I really just tried to tune them out considering 99% of them seemed vile and repulsive.

As soon as we get into the car, the questioning begins. "What do you think you were doing, Natalie! First of all, what you did was illegal in every way. Second, what you did was extremely dangerous and we were all very worried about you. And third, you know what you did was wrong-" I would have kept going but she interrupted me.

"How is it wrong? I know technically I'm not 16 yet, but I know how to drive and isn't that all that really matters in racing? And all of you speed all the time; this is like…the same thing only you're speeding with someone else."

"It is very wrong for so many reasons, Natalie! Just because you know how to, doesn't mean that you should, you know how to jump out of a plane without a parachute don't you? That doesn't mean you should-"again, I would have continued except I heard her mumble 'maybe' under her breath, which made me nervous for a whole different set of reasons. "What do you mean 'maybe' Natalie? No, you should not do something so dangerous you could get seriously hurt from the race, you would die jumping out of the plane. There is no 'maybe' involved."

"That's easy for you to say! You've only had to die once! One tiny little time! Not me, I died A LOT! It wasn't even my choice! At least jumping out of the plane would be MY CHOICE!"

This had definitely taken a very different direction than the one I wanted to be headed in. She seemed dead tired, but even then, this reaction was too strong to simply be blamed on lack of sleep. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to her, but I obviously wouldn't get it through her thick skull tonight when she was already beginning to doze in the car. I simply answered "A choice you will not be making".

"It's not up to you" she said while yawning. I would have argued back but she probably wouldn't have been able to focus long enough to hear. I decided to let her sleep and I would talk about this with her tomorrow.

When we pulled up to the house, I got her out of the back and carried her up to her room, kissed her on the forehead and was turning to leave when she mumbled, "It wasn't wrong of me…" very quietly.

Yes, tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

**A/N: So what did you guys think of Carlisle's POV…I know, not that much happened in this chapter, but it needed to be said so next chapter can be AMAZING! As always, I really, really, really, really, really love reviews and I literally start to dance when I get a notification telling me I have a review. Pluuuuuuuus, I'm more motivated to write, so if you want to read new chapters more often, reviews would be really useful! :P Love y'all! Thanks for all the support. Also, if you really like my writing, you should read my blog! It's .com It has a lot of my different writing styles on there…poems, one-shots, monologues, etc. (: thank you guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_Natalie's Point of View_

I awoke to the dull light of another morning in Forks, Washington. Well, afternoon technically. Then I remembered the previous night. Oh, crap! I was so screwed! I still didn't get how the street race was wrong. After all, for a period of time that was how I made all my money…at least according to my journals. I understand going somewhere without telling anyone…but I honestly didn't think that was a very big deal either. Seriously, my father was acting as if I really, honest to God, didn't know what I was doing. I kind of wanted to yell at him, just a little bit. I had been taking care of myself pretty much since I was born. I mean, I was put into foster homes but all they really do is pay for you to have stuff, they didn't really care about you. I learned how to take care of myself over time…then again maybe he did have a point. _NO!_ I argued with myself. But if I was to face the facts, they all point to his side of the argument. First of all, I didn't remember very much from each life. I remembered really, truly important things, but most of the time, I simply drew a blank. That's why I kept such detailed journals…so I could remember. Plus, I'm not sure if simply surviving is the same as taking care of.

Dang it! I didn't want him to be right! If I was being honest, I wanted to get out of here and live life like nobody's freaking business. I was happy that I had met my father, but I wasn't used to this whole permanent-familia thing. And on top of that, I didn't know if I was going to live this time around. The witch never said anything about what happened after I met my father. And if I wasn't going to wake up again, I wanted to do a lot of things I had either never done or don't remember doing. I wanted to do something stupid and reckless and fun. Which, I had probably done a lot of that throughout my lives, but I wanted to do so much more of it. As stupid as this might sound, I wanted to get drunk on the beach with a bunch of my friends but also help a bunch of old people so I have a shot at getting into heaven. I don't even know what to think! Maybe it was just the fear getting to me, but I felt like I needed to live life more!

If I were to sit here and read all of my old journals, a lot of the things that I keep telling myself I really want to do, I had probably already done…but I was sick of wondering if I had or not. I had read most of them, but that's a lot of books and it takes a while to get through them, so I just started to bookmark the important things, which means I don't even remember all the things I've done!

I really just wanted to lay in bed all day, but before I could come up with a good reason to do just that, there was a knock on my door. "Natalie," my father said "Can I please come in? I know you're awake so please answer me"

Well that sinks plan A. "Sure," I replied grumpily. I really didn't want to talk to him, considering I didn't understand how what I did was wrong.

He walked in while I internally yelled at him to get out because I didn't want to talk to him…he shouldn't be accusing me of anything because I haven't done anything wrong! "Natalie," he sighed, sounding tired and…and _old_ all of the sudden.

"What do you want to say, Carlisle? Because if we're being honest here, I don't really feel like talking right now." Okay, I knew the whole first name thing was kind of a low blow, but I was in the middle of a crisis here and about to be lectured about something that I didn't even care about, _really_!

His face fell just a little more. And I automatically felt a little bad for calling him Carlisle, but not regretful. I gave up on regret a long time ago. Just think about it…If you only have so much time to make an impression on the world, why regret anything? It's just a waste of time and it's so _not_ going to get you anywhere.

"Well, whether you want to talk or not Natalie, you're going to. Everyone was worried about you before we even left, did you have to add to that worry? Whether you want to admit it or not, what you did was wrong. You aren't old enough to even drive! And on top of that, you left in the middle of the night which can be so dangerous! Do you know what kind of people go out in the middle of the night? Not good ones…that's who. And if that wasn't bad enough, you didn't even tell anyone where you were going!"

Yup, just as I predicted, I did not want to be here. Thanks for making me feel just _great_ dad! It's not like I have anything else to worry about or anything! "So I'm a bad person Dad? Because, whether you want to believe it or not, that's not the first time I've gone out in the middle of the night. And not just in this life, but I'm pretty sure I've probably gone out in every life I've ever had. And guess what? I've gambled too, and on top of that I've been married before…so I don't need you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do because I'm risking my safety. I've never been killed have I? Soooo, I think I'm pretty good as far as knowing what I should and shouldn't do because it's unsafe." I got up to put my shoes on and leave-I was still in my clothes from last night. My hair didn't look half bad either, which surprised me. However, when I walked towards the door, shoes in hand my father was blocking it. "Please move, Dad. If you couldn't tell by the whole shoes in hand walking towards the door…this is the signal for goodbye." I snarkily responded to his outrageous reaction. I'm _trying _to get some space here, leave me alone!

"No, Natalie, you're not. We need to talk, so we're going to talk." I gave up, I couldn't fight him, he was 20 million times stronger than me. So I sat on the bed with a huge sigh. "Now then," he continued, "I'm sure you can tell, this can go two ways…we can talk openly about what's going on, not only last night, but everything that's going on inside your pretty little head lately…or, we can do this intervention-style. Where the entire family sits you down in the living room and we listen to you scream at us for 20 minutes and just keep giving it back. It's your choice, but either way, you can't get out of telling us what's going on because whether you want to believe me or not, we all love you. And we're honestly worried about you."

I still didn't want to talk. There was _no way _he could understand, no one could. I was the only one on the planet that had ever faced this dilemma. And I know because I had searched and searched for years. I asked the witch if there was anyone else like me, and she said no. I was alone, forever. I was meant to live and die alone. A fact that I had grown to know and accept about myself. Yes, I had loved people and been married, but it doesn't change anything. I couldn't be with them forever, in fact, my time with them was very limited. I didn't want to talk with fake promises of understanding, because while they could believe and verify what has happened to me, they could never _understand._ Really and truly get me and what I had gone through.

After contemplating these thoughts silently for a few moments, my father interrupted my train of thought. "Let's just start with something simple. Why did you do it Natalie? Why would you leave and go to a street race in the middle of the night?"

I sighed again; it looks like my silence isn't going to get me out of talking to him. At least this question wasn't a hard one. But when we got into deeper topics, I was out. "I honestly didn't think it mattered, Dad. Or that you guys would care. It's not like I was a normal 15 year old girl taking her sister's car out for a joy ride. I knew what I was doing and I thought you guys knew and trusted me enough to let me live like I have for pretty much my entire life."

"First of all, what did you mean, you didn't think we would care? Of course we care! Look at me," he said, pulling my chin to look at him instead of staring at the pattern on my bed comforter. "None of us would ever want anything to happen to you. We all love and care about you very much"

"You do realize that's what everyone says right? But that's all it is, words coming out of people's mouths. There's no possible way all those sets of foster parents actually meant that, they didn't even really know me. But then I come here and there's a bunch of people telling me that they _care_. They really do _love _me and want me to be happy because we're a _family_." I sneered. The sad part is I was so sure that this is what I wanted! _Be careful what you wish for_, I thought to myself.

"Why do you say it like that? Just because we're not blood related, means we can't be a family? Because Katie doesn't share your blood and you refer to her as your sister…So you get to change the rules whenever you decide they apply or not? And who ever said that we were like all those foster parents?"

"What makes me think you are like all the other foster families? Hah!" I laughed "Because you are! If you were all human, you would be _exactly _like a foster family. A loving husband and wife with a bunch of kids that aren't theirs living under the roof, Feeling so close to them when they are still dealing with tragedies that landed them into this place to begin with. Whether _you _like the idea or not, you are just like all those other homes. I'm not saying that I don't want to be here, or I regret being here, I just can't stand the thought of someone other than me controlling any tiny aspect of my life. Because that's always been MY decision and not anyone else's. Maybe it is a flaw of mine, but it's not going to change. I'm too used to it by now to change."

"Natalie, I never said that you couldn't make your own decisions. I'm just trying to make sure I don't leave for the weekend and come back to find my daughter dead. And I'm sorry you had to live so long making your own decisions without any guidance, but I would like to believe that if you really had been taking care of yourself for so long now you would be able to realize that there are consequences to your actions and you should not run around doing a ton of reckless things because one day it will catch up to you."

Rebellion burned in my throat. So what if actions had consequences. Again, I was never killed by anything _reckless_ I've ever done anyway. And who was he to talk anyways? He did 'dangerous' stuff all the time! "Fine, Dad! I'm so _very _sorry for making you all worried and I plead for my forgiveness your royal majesty!" I said sarcastically…said and instantly regretted.

His eyes became just a half shade darker, but I could tell that I _might _have overstepped my boundaries…just a little bit. "Natalie! Why do you always have to push things just a little too far! Why do you insist on being the best at everything and refuse to let anyone have their own niche? Why do you have to have the last word? And _why _do you always have to have a snappy little sarcastic comment when it was neither requested nor enjoyed!"

That shut me up.

"Now, he continued. I love you, but I refuse to let being a beautiful and talented young girl go to your head. We were having a discussion and a very important one at that. So when I ask you a question, I need to answer it calmly and seriously with a nothing but truthful answer, am I clear?" He said the entire speech with an eerie calm that worried me more than if he had been screaming the words. How did he do that? I wanted to go hide in my closet to get out of this!

I couldn't think of what to say, so I just nodded my head. "Since this conversation has taken a turn for the worse, I want to know what happened to you. You used to be so kind and lovely to everyone and while you haven't been rude, you have a shorter temper and you never go to sleep when you say you are. You _have_ become ruder to me when provoked. What's bothering you so much?" I was surprised that the speech had more of a worried tone to it, I was expecting more anger, but I wasn't complaining.

"I'm just stressed, Dad. That's all" I tried to convince him. I really didn't want to get into this whole thing now. If anything, I just wanted to roll into a ball and cry.

"Stressed about what?" he pushed.

"Dad, I realize you care and don't want me to die and all, but trust me…talking about it wouldn't help anything. If it did anything at all, it would probably just make me cry and you could not understand anything I said anyways."

Concern continued to grace his features. "If it's so bad it's going to make you cry, then you need to talk about it."

"It's a stupid fear anyway…" I mumbled. Unfortunately for me, my father was a vampire.

"Fear?" He did it! Picked out the key word to this entire thing.

"Well, yeah! You would probably be afraid if your life was ticking down and you didn't know what was going to happen!"

"What are you talking about, Natalie?"

"Just think about it Dad! The crazy old witch promised that I would live like this until I found you…well, I found you. No one knows anything about the results because no one's life has been lived like this! I'm happy to have met you, but afraid of what might be the result!" I hurried out in one breath.

"Oh…" was all he could respond. Yup, I had done it, I had been the bearer of bad news and gotten the big deal across to my father. _Woo hoo! _I thought sarcastically, _I'm gonna diiiiiieee!_

**A/N: So what do y'all think! Again, sorry my internet isn't working or this would be put online faster but anyways…I wanted Natalie to act a little bit more like a teenager for a little bit. Plus I'm in a bad mood so it's easier to write for a character like this…ANYWAYS…I really, really, really want some more reviews… so if I could get like, 5-I would be a super happy writer(:**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am SO sincerely sorry it has taken me this long to update, but it has been one thing after the other all summer! Now that everything is up and running again I'm going to try to update as much and as fast as possible. My school starts again in 10 days but I'm going to start scheduling writing my fanfiction, blog, articles, other stories, etc. Anyways, I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that I still have some people out there excited to read and again, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update until now…but I do promise I have been thinking about it a lot and have a pretty good idea with how this story is going to go unless some random streak on inspiration comes along and ruins it all…just kidding! I love you all!**

Chapter 18

_Natalie's Point of View_

After I had dropped that little bomb of information to my father, he finally let me leave. I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do when I reached this mystery destination of mine, but I had to get out of this house of terrors. Actually, that wasn't right…I had nothing against this house or any of the members in it, I just couldn't stay here-at least for the time being.

None of the family members tried to stop me as I reached for some car keys to leave. They had undoubtedly heard my explanation and were in just as much shock as my dad. I didn't even pay attention to which set of keys I was grabbing, just anything that would get me beyond these property lines. Forget property lines, I wanted to get out of this town, out of this state, out of this world even…but I knew that I wouldn't be able to do that without the help of some very strong drinks and I wasn't in the mood to do that sort of thing. Not now.

It turned out to be the keys to Rosalie's convertible. She wouldn't mind…they barely even used the thing anyways. I sped out of the driveway, by the time I reached a normal road I was going inching past one hundred miles an hour. I thought more about what I was doing and where I was going. I thought a heck of a lot about what I could do and the places I could go with such a nice car and the debit card I had managed to grab before my grand exit. There were a lot of nice places.

I considered how much I longed to go to New York, but decided later that I would just go wherever the wind took me.

However, the 'wind' headed straight east anyways. I probably looked a mess. I hadn't brushed my hair and my mouth had a funny taste to it. Not necessarily like morning breath (although that was probably a contributing factor) but it was more like if you could taste fear and sadness mixed together with just a hint of rebellion—that's what I was tasting inside my mouth.

I had managed to grab very few things before I left. I was pretty much empty handed. I had the clothes on my back, my phone, the debit card, and a water bottle, not to mention the car. I drove and didn't stop until I needed to fill the car with gas. I realized it was nearing two in the morning and I didn't even know where I was when I decided calling home wouldn't hurt me.

I sighed, "Might as well face it Natalie," I whispered to myself "you're lost, tired, confused, sad, don't know where you're going and haven't brushed your teeth all day. Calling home is pretty much all you can do right now."

I finished filling the tank and got into the car, pulling up to one of the parking spaces there by the 24-hour food mart and dialed my father's phone number.

It didn't even finish the first ring when I could hear his worried voice on the other line.

"Natalie!?" he breathed in relief, "Are you okay? Where are you!? Do you want me to come get you? Please just come back home Natalie! Are you there? Hello? Natalie!?" He managed to get out what felt like an entire soliloquy in one breath while I just listened to his voice while the tears I had been holding in started to fall.

"No…" I managed to squeeze out in between my frantic breaths.

"No what!? No you're not okay? Are you hurt!? Natalie, _please _just tell me where you are!"

"I can't, Daddy" my voice cracked.

"Why not, sweetheart. What's wrong?"

"I _can't _tell you where I am because I don't _know_!" My voice continued to be extremely high pitched and crack while I was talking.

"It's okay, Natalie, it's okay. Where are you right now? Are you still driving? Are you at a hotel? A gas station, maybe?"

"I'm parked in front of a food mart at a Chevron." I said, calming down a little bit. I knew he would be able to help me, even if I was just talking to him over the phone.

"Is it 24-hour? Are there lights on inside?" He continued questioning.

"Yeah, it's open"

"Okay, I want you to stay on the phone with me and go inside and look for someone working there."

"Okay" I responded as I got out of the car and locked the doors. A little bell dinged when I walked in, "there's a guy behind the counter but he's the only one here I think" I practically whispered into my phone as I walked by the drink aisle. "Daddy, I have a weird feeling in here…"

"That's why I told you to stay on the phone. Look around are there any maps or anything?"

"I don't see one, I can keep looking, but he's staring at me."

"Calm down, sweetie. Just keep looking and if he moves at all I want you tell me. If he tries coming toward you I want you to run to the car and drive away as fast as you can, okay? But until anything like that happens you're safe, okay?"

"Okay" I let out a shaky breath. I continued searching when I saw something. There was a stand by the door with key chains and maps and things like that. I walked over to it and realized that I was right.

"I FOUND ONE!" I more or less screamed into the phone! And that's when I saw it. In my peripheral vision I could see the employee start to get out from behind the counter with his eyes glued to me so I grabbed the map I had seen and booked it to my car. Lucky for me, the man behind the counter looked like he hadn't exercised in 5 years and I had an almost unlimited supply of energy on top of adrenaline from the scare so I had my car started before he even made it out the door and then tore out of that parking lot like women running to the last pair of shoes at a shoe sale.

I had managed to put my phone on speaker before I threw it on the seat next to me so I heard my father panicking over the phone. "Natalie!? What happened? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!"

"Yeah," I panted, out of breath. "I found a map when he started to come after me so I grabbed the map and booked it, but I'm getting back onto the freeway now." I continued as my breathing started to slow.

"Okay" he said a little bit more calmly.

Once I was on the freeway I pulled over to the side and turned the light in the car on while grabbing the map to look at it. It was then that I realized I was in Nebraska.

"Nebraska" I told my father.

"What? That's where you are!? How fast were you driving?" He sounded slightly panicked.

"Fast enough," I answered while playing with the map some more. I realized on the back there was a map of the entire United States. When I looked at the map, I realized what had taken me this way, why my metaphorical wind had blown me this way. I was struck with inspiration when I came up with an idea. "I know where I'm going now, Daddy. Thanks for helping me! I love you!" I quickly said.

"Natalie, wait!-" but I hung up before he had the chance to finish saying whatever it was he had been planning on saying.

With my inspiration now intact and the radio playing some classic rock and roll, I continued to drive, going where my heart longed to take me.

**A/N: So what do you all think? Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for reading if you all continued to! Like I said, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to update much sooner!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_Carlisle's Point of View_

After Natalie hung up I my feelings were partially relieved and also partly even more worried. It was obvious she wouldn't be coming home, at least not in the very near future. I was also worried with how fast she was pushing that car to go. I knew for a fact that it was possible with the modifications Rosalie had made, but if _Natalie _crashed _Rosalie's _car pushing it that much, there was a very good chance she could die on impact. Forget could, unless something miraculously saved her, she _would _die.

I was so upset over her leaving entirely. I had just got her back after waiting for so long only to have her out of my reach once again. The entire family was suffering. Everyone had grown attached which meant everyone missed her and was worried for her. I was contemplating these things when I felt the loving arms around my wife wrap around me.

"It will be okay" Esme whispered softly in my ear.

"What if it's not, love? What if she gets hurt?"

"I have faith, Carlisle. I know Natalie, and I know that when she figures things out she will come back. But I have_ faith _that she's going to make it where she's going and get what she needs to be reassured in a way we can't. I know that's hard to think about, that we can't be everything she needs, but she hasn't been with us this entire time. There are things that have happened in your beautiful daughters' life none of us know about and she needs to take care of herself because of that."

Only my wife could be so wise and comforting. I turned to face her and hugged her closely to me. I silently tried to convey my gratitude by staring into her beautiful eyes and prayed she could understand.

After a while we went downstairs to the living room where most of the family had been all day. Edward was playing a sad tune on his piano while everyone moped about. Everyone except Alice, of course. I swear that nothing could ever bring her mood down. We were all sitting around chatting when she slipped into a vision. Edward immediately seemed to relax slightly which brought me a little relief as she entered reality again.

"Do you have your phone on you, Carlisle?" she asked.

I nodded and went to get it out of my pocket when I heard it beep.

"It's from Natalie," she continued, "she's safe. She stopped to sleep at a hotel. A pretty nice one too, I might add. I know where she's going but she doesn't want me to tell you. But trust me, she's perfectly okay and will be back as soon as she's done where she's at."

She basically told me what the text message said.

I quickly replied back while a wave of relief washed over me. _Everything is going to be okay._ I told myself.

_Natalie's Point of View_

I got a reply from my father quickly after I sent him the original text.

**Thanks for texting me. I was a little bit worried. Alice didn't tell me where you are, by the way. She told me you didn't want me to know. I understand you're just taking care of some things, clearing your head. I miss you, so does everyone else as well. I love you, goodnight Natalie.**

Only my dad would be so formal while writing a text. I shot back a quick 'luv u 2' before falling into bed and passing out pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillows and began to dream of the past life I was about to face.

_It was the Roaring 20's in Louisiana. I had spent almost all of my entire past life in the south and something about it made me refer to it as home. Even though I had spent my time in several states like Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, it was still all considered home to me. The 20's were exciting. There was no doubt that the government had its problems, but people like me didn't care about that. People like us didn't care about that. We were a group of partiers without any given name. We all knew each other though, and we all got lost in the good times together. The illegal booze was cheap down here and the women were loose, but everyone knew that secretly the men were even looser. They couldn't stand the sway of our hips or the feel of our lips and skin against theirs without wanting more.__It took little seduction and just like that we had those men wrapped around our fingers. Everyone knew that there were problems surrounding us. The KKK had become more and more of an issue and everyone were buying their liquor against the law. But we all just sat back and lost ourselves in the jazz. It was during this time that I found myself a man. I was 15 when I met John, he was 4 years older than me, but knew how to sweep a girl off her feet. We met during Mardi Gras and I was instantly taken with him. My family and I had been invited to a masquerade ball and after 30 minutes there almost everyone was already drop dead drunk. It was in this state that I stumbled into a closet while looking for the restroom when I saw a man. He was looking for his coat, but so plastered that couldn't even tell if the coats he was looking at were for men or women. He didn't notice my presence in the closet until almost five minutes later when he gave me the most amazing smile I had seen in my entire life. _

"_Hello there" he said, his dazzling smile remaining on his face._

"_You do realize that you're wrapped up in some women's fur coat, don't you?"_

_He blushed and immediately took the coat off._

"_Now," I continued, "I think it would be an awfully good idea for us to go back to the party and dance until we can't feel our feet anymore, wouldn't you agree?"_

_He simply nodded and I could tell he hadn't had any experience with a women taking the reigns before._

"_And maybe," I kept going, "if you impress me with your skill, I just might have to thank you in the only way I know how to thank men such as yourself" I had whispered the last part in his ear and when I was done kissed his cheek softly, gently._

"_Well what kind of man would I be to refuse a lady such as yourself to dance?" With that he grabbed my hand and escorted me out of the closet and to the dance floor._

_That night was the first of many nights with John._

_We continued to party and drink, and tried to keep a positive outlook on everything that surrounded us. I had never been so intimately close with a man in my entire life._

_Three years later he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and in a moment of pure and unadulterated bliss, I accepted. I didn't think about the pain I would cause him in only a few short years._

_After our marriage, his parents passed down part of their fortune to us and we bought a reasonably sized house in the heart of New Orleans. We lived together happily with few fights and unconditional love towards each other until my twenty-third birthday._

_I had been pregnant with a child for five months. And though I was afraid that I would not be able to raise her like a parent should, I was happy about it anyway. Surely John could take care of the child. We had both been ecstatic when we found out, happy to start a family since we had started to become part of a sophisticated society shortly after our marriage. The time spent preparing to welcome this child into our world was spent as some of the happiest days of our lives._

_It was now two days before my birthday, and I was excited like I always seemed to be now, when I started to not feel very well. John had tucked me back into bed and I was simply relaxing, praying the baby would be okay when I started to feel it._

_At first I thought my water had broken, but it was much too early. I went to the bathroom to find out what had happened to me when I realized it wasn't water, it was blood._

_I, being as naïve as I was about child birth, was confused. There weren't any other words to describe how I was feeling. On the contrary, I think my subconscious knew what was going on because for reasons unknown to me, I started to cry. _

_John heard the noise and came up to see what was wrong when he saw what had happened. How my husband knew more about what was going on than I did, I will never understand. He simply hugged me closely to him and cried silent tears as I was more confused than ever._

"_W-what's happening, John?" My voice cracking unexpectedly._

"_You don't know, Natalie?" he whispered. His voice still shook from his own tears._

"_Something's wrong, isn't it?"_

"_Natalie, sweetie," he paused, looking almost as if he couldn't explain to me, "we're not having a baby anymore. At least not that one."_

_I was in complete shock when he started to run the bath water. After he had done that, he just held me while I continued to stand there in complete shock. I had lost the baby, I wasn't going to be a mother. I wasn't even able to form words when I realized John had been whispering in my ear. For how long, I had no idea, but I heard him now._

"_It's alright baby, we're going to be alright. I need you to calm down, though. I need you to calm down and breathe with me, okay? In…"he took a deep breath and held it. "Out," he released it. "Okay, sweetheart, now do it with me. In…" I took a shaky breath and exhaled as he did. When my breathing returned to a semi-normal state he continued to talk to me. "We can try again, okay? This wasn't our one chance, it can happen again! We just need to be positive, okay?"_

_The tub was full by now and he shut the water off and picked me up and placed me in the warm water. He kissed my cheek and smiled at me before leaving to go get something to clean the floor up. I curled into a ball and cried a little more for my loss. It wasn't meant to happen, I guessed, but I wanted it to so badly._

I woke up after that last part of my dream. Tears streaked down my face as I told myself that it had happened a long time ago and I had to get over the loss. It wouldn't have been the right thing for the baby anyways.

I took a long shower and continued to think about John and how much I had loved him. After getting ready I went down to the lobby of the hotel and checked out. It was almost one in the afternoon in the heart of a city in Kansas. I took the car out and decided that I might as well do some shopping while I was in the city considering I had been wearing the same clothes for almost three days now.

After my wardrobe was sufficiently larger, I was on the road again. Heading to the place I considered my home. I knew it was home because even though I only remembered some things from each life I lived, to this day I could remember every moment spent with John in the south. I knew that's where I belonged.

**A/N: Hey everyone! So first of all, I was really trying to get this up last night but ¾ of the way through the chapter felt extremely ill. And second, sorry if this chapter isn't super great of might be kind of scatter-brained because I still don't feel super well but wanted to continue the story. And thirdly, please, please, PLEASE review. If you're an author you know how great it feels to get one and if you're not-trust me, it's amazing. So please!? Help the sick feel better!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey guys so I was getting used to my schedule now that I'm back in school and I think I'm ready to take this story to the next level (i.e. more updates :P) Anyways, I'm planning on finishing up this story soon, at least by winter break-ish. I have a lot of other things that I want to focus on, like a novel, but depending on the results of the reviews at the end of the story I might work on a sequel but for now, this is the only one. Also, I'm still doing this for the pure purpose of entertainment (not like the novel) so there might be a few grammar, spelling, etc. errors, but as always…for more of my work, please check out my blog at . . Thanks for all that visit and are reading…UPDATE TIME!**

Chapter 20

_Natalie's Point of View_

After a couple of days, I finally made it to my destination…home. As I started to drive in the neighborhood, I started to have some feelings of doubt about my decision to come here. After all, I had already put myself through this torment once, why endure it again unnecessarily? But like a sick addiction, I couldn't stop myself as I got closer and closer to my past life. And soon enough, I was parked in front of our house. Everything seemed so surreal. I was here again. I was at the place that had somehow changed my entire personality, as well as perspective. Before this house had become part of my life, I had been so negative. I wasn't exactly the most inwardly happy all the time. I mean, of course I always placed a fake smile on my face and acted as if everything was alright, but it rarely every was. When John had broken into my own personal world and revealed what I was feeling in my heart, he did all he could to make me as happy as possible, and I don't know how things would have turned out if it hadn't been for him.

But now was the time to face the past. With a somewhat curious and certainly unusual future looming ahead of me, I had to come to terms with every part of my past life I could remember and wasn't happy with. I had to do this for myself. And even more than that, I had to do this for John. I always had this feeling after my 'death' that his spirit was there looking after me while I was looking for someone else. Almost like unfinished business. And it was his time to find peace within mine.

I unlocked the door and stepped in. I was slightly shocked the house hadn't been sold, or at least had a different set of locks put in, but I had kept up with everything about this life. What had become of John, the house, family and friends I had known. There were rumors about this house being haunted by the beautiful mother who lost her young child and watched over their soul in this very house. Anyone in their right minds knew that the myth wasn't true, but the south was a very superstitious place and everything supernatural was taken very seriously. However, I wasn't complaining, it enabled me to visit in peace without steak-outs and break-ins.

Everything was just how it had been. The fireplace in the living room still had books and pictures cluttering the mantel. The lace curtains were exactly as they had been for years, drawn shut with the one small rip in it near the floor from the time I had accidently tripped over it in a pair of heels. The back was still the obnoxious overgrown garden that it had always been. Even when both members of the happy couple lived here neither of them tried to 'tame' it. It was beautiful in a unique way. It wasn't like others people's yards with neatly trimmed grass and designated spots for walkways. The entire thing was covered in lush patches of thick grass and wildflowers in addition to the daffodils John had covered the yard in one year for her birthday. Candles were still placed throughout the yard making the entire place light up in a way that was absolute magic at night. Even their room remained the same. The bed was neatly made with a record player in the corner with its entire perimeter covered in records-mostly jazz. My vanity was still there with a tray of perfumes sitting on top of it. John's razor was in the medicine cabinet, again, there were candles everywhere, and there were even some dried rose petals scattered on the floor for the multiple times my amazing husband had attempted (and succeeded) grand romantic gestures. John's military trunk lay on the floor of our closet, all its contents still locked up in it. And all my clothing was hung neatly on one side, with his on the other. And right in the middle where our clothes met was our box.

This box was the most special thing she still had with her. It contained memories that could never be replaced. It was actually quite a large box, but everything in it was special all the same. It had a bottle of champagne they had shared that night they met during mardi gras. It had photographs of the two of them. It had their guest book from their wedding, as well as the blanket his parents had given us at our wedding, as was tradition. It was ours to cuddle with, to warm our hearts until we melted into one, it was ours to hide under and escape the world together, it was ours to remind us of our love. It had a couple of his journals. It also had the record with our song on it. And at the very bottom of the chest were two things I didn't remember putting in there but brought tears to my eyes none the less. After my death, John had put the dress we were planning on bringing the baby home in (we were always hoping it would be a girl) as well as a portrait of me.

I was overcome with the memories, but somehow in the best way possible. And for a little while, I was completely content.

**A/N: I know its kind of short and basically just talking about her home but it is still really important! Anyways, I love you all for reading and PLEASE review! I'll love you forever!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hello everyone! Again, I'm sorry for the delay. I thought I had my schedule all figured out but clearly I didn't. Also, there haven't been any reviews or anything on top of a lot of other really depressing things that really just made me want to give up, but I want to thank twilightfan13 for your comment…it inspired me to update again. Anyways, I know this has nothing to do with the story but I really want to talk to someone willing to listen (or in this case read) and I figured I already have a good number of people waiting to read the story I'm writing, this is probably the most likely the best place to find it. Do any of you feel like no one's listening? Like no one cares even? That's how a feel a lot now, like everything in my life's useless. I really don't know why I'm sharing this with all of you but I suppose it's time to move on to the story you came to read…thanks for reading and sorry for the wait. **

Chapter 21

_Natalie's Point of View_

I don't know how long I had been sitting here just basking in the glow of memories, a completely different life that wasn't even mine anymore. That was the life of Natalie Smith, not Natalie Lynn Cullen. I had changed so much but also so little since then and I still didn't know exactly who I was. I was always the mystery girl, to everyone including myself, and now that mysterious side of me was just gone. I was just a girl. There was nothing interesting or special about me. Nothing to make me stand out and _sparkle._ John had always used that word to describe me. I hadn't seen the irony in that apt description until now.

At some point I had put one of the records on. In truth, a lot of the unknown amount of time I had now spent here was simply a blur. I had sat here for who knows how long just letting out my emotions. I had gone from bliss, to despair, to pure rage, to the point of catharsis I had reached now. There were books and pictures scattered across the floor from one of my outbursts and I was sitting on the same spot on the floor that had started all this craziness, only with a glass of wine sitting next to me. I usually don't drink unless there's an occasion for it, but it seemed almost right, like I should drink it out of respect or something. Maybe I was just going mental, which was a very good possibility.

In one fluid movement, I picked up the glass again and drained it of the remaining contents. I stood and walked out, leaving the room a mess but not caring whatsoever. I didn't know what I was going to do. I still wasn't thinking very clearly, though I wasn't sure if that was an effect of the wine or just me being lost. I cleaned and put away the glass almost mechanically, still not sure of what to do.

I needed my daddy. As much as I hated to admit it, ever since he'd come into my life, I had grown used to leaning onto him for support. I hated showing this part of me to anyone, including him. But I guess he would figure it out sooner or later anyways.

_Carlisle's Point of View_

I had taken the day off work again today. I had taken every day off since Natalie had left, just in case she decided to come back. Maybe it was futile hope, that she would come back so soon, but I wasn't planning on leaving the house until she was safe back home again.

I was sitting in my study reading when my cell phone began to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and almost jumped out of my chair when I saw it was Natalie.

"Hello!? Natalie! Is everything okay!? What do you need?" I rushed out the second I answered. I was so happy she was calling, but also slightly worried…the last time she called she had been in trouble.

She laughed on the other side of the line. Only it was a pained laugh. Like laughing through tears because it's the only semi-version of peace you can find. "I guess okay is one way to put it." She murmured on the other end, almost sounding dead. Hopeless was probably a better word, but she seemed so lifeless on the other end of the line.

"What's wrong, Honey?" I questioned. I was the exact persona of a concerned father at the moment, but what kind of father would I be it I _wasn't _concerned?

"Can you come meet me?" She asked her voice thick with suppressed tears.

"Of course, baby girl! Just tell me where you are and I'll come as fast as I can!" I tried to sound cheery in a futile hope to make her stop crying over the phone, but all I could do was wish it helped.

"I'm in the French Quarter…in New Orleans" she said, and it was apparent that the tears had now freely started to flow again.

"Okay, just try to relax, okay? I'm going to be there soon. As soon as I possibly can. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"There's this little bakery, on the corner of Chartres and Saint Peters Street, by Jackson Square. If you get a map, it will all be on there."

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Call me or text me if you need anything, okay? Promise you'll tell me if you need anything?" I said anxiously while also quickly shoving some clothes into a duffle bag and grabbing my keys so I could get to the airport and in the air quickly. As I ran towards the door, Esme gave me an understanding look-she wanted her daughter back as well and soon enough I was racing down the long driveway.

"I promise. Thanks, Daddy…" she whispered and hung up.

**A/N: It might just be me, but this chapter probably won't be the most interesting because it was one of those ones where I got up periodically through it. You know: checked my email, made a sandwich, danced a little, went to the bookstore, text…those things that absolutely need to get done while you're writing…jk :P The next chapter will be more interesting. Also, I don't live in Louisiana…I don't know if there's a little bakery there or whatever is there, if anything…I just made it up like fiction writers do, so yeah :P Next chapter will be more interesting!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey everyone…it's me again…finally. I'm going to start off by saying this is going to be a fairly long authors note so I would understand if you skipped past it but appreciate if you didn't. Before I kittyxab for leaving me a review today…it's why I'm updating. As well as anyone who has reviewed ever. I would like to give a very very very very special thank you to kiwijoeelle for the PM—I have now read it about a gazillion times. I also realized that fanfiction blocks out websites so no one can see my blog address (at least it wasn't showing up when I looked) so I am now going to attempt to trick the system! This may or may not work but it's .com. We'll see soon I guess. I do apologize for being gone so long with such huge breaks in between but I hope you can find it in your hearts to keep reading…fanfiction is kind of going to become a safety net in my life and I'd like it to be a very safe safety net **** Anyways without any further ado: THE STORY!**

Chapter 22

_Carlisle's Point of View_

Within five hours I was nearing the bakery my beautiful Natalie had told me to meet her at. I was still extremely worried and I repeated a silent prayer that she was not having a complete melt down while alone. While she tried to cover it up, everyone knew Natalie wore her heart on her sleeve which is partially why everyone loved her so much. Yes, she could trick you into thinking she was happy when she wasn't for a while but eventually her true feelings were revealed. She was an emotional girl and the whole family had come to know that if she kept those emotions back it was only going to build. I had no idea how long she had been keeping things back or exactly how close she was to reenacting hurricane Katrina. And that made me so extraordinarily worried.

I finally entered the small _boulangerie-patisserie _and frantically looked around for my daughter until I spotted her. Huddled in a corner wearing an extremely oversized crème sweater sipping at some coffee. She looked a mess but the storm still hadn't hit. It was obvious she had been crying to me but to most people it would probably just like she had allergies. Her hair was messy and twisted into a bun that had started to fall out. Not to mention that sweater! While I didn't really dislike the fact that she wasn't the kind of girl to show off her body, I knew she wore things like that more because she was ashamed than the fact she wanted to be modest.

"Daddy!" She smiled and visibly relaxed just slightly. Natalie stood up and gave me a hug that neither of us wanted to end to soon but because we were in the middle of a bakery, did end after half of a second.

"Hi, baby girl"

She was just finishing her coffee when the waitress brought her another cup.

"Thanks Danni!" She smiled a true, genuine smile.

More questions arose and I had a feeling that was going to be a reoccurring theme today.

"How many cups have you had?" I knew she liked coffee and I knew she tended to go overboard, especially on a bad day. Because, at least according to Natalie, a good cup of coffee could cure anything. It was like how some girls responded to chocolate or ice cream.

"What answer would make you the least upset?"

"The one that was true."

"I know you don't mean that but I'll go with it. Actually, I'll let you guess, it's a number between 1 and 10" She giggled her beautiful little giggle that reminded me so much of her mother and for the moment I didn't care about everything that had happened in the last few days. That my heart had felt broken and I felt helpless, or that we had been so mad at each other before that. I was overjoyed that for a few seconds my daughter was displaying signs of bliss.

"I'll aim high and go with seven"

"Ooooh, so close but not close enough I'm afraid. Off by one, six. I was going more for taste today."

I still wasn't happy with the idea of her drinking that much in one sitting but I wasn't about to start a fight about something so trivial now.

"How did you know that girl?" I asked. Honestly curious, seriously could the girl make friends any faster?

"Well, first off, any waitress is bound to get on a first name basis with you if you sit at a table and order a cup of coffee over and over and over again but Danni's special."

"You think everyone's special but special _how_?"

"She's in on it-everything about me. We met in my last life and we became best friends almost instantaneously. I had ended up in New Orleans again and I was so happy about that to begin with. It was sort of like a home, the only home I'd ever had. We went to school together and when we graduated we went to London together, just to get that London feel. Well, that's why she did it. I was more interested in the lighting differences since my thing then was photography. Those were some really good times" She smiled at the memory, clearly somewhere other than the bakery.

"This was one of our favorite places in high school. Fed the artistic soul. It made both of us happy to be here and it just became our spot."

I could see what she meant about the artistic thing. It was almost as if there were two different bakeries melted into one with the way it was set up. On one side, the side we were sitting on, it looked like a café straight out of Paris. Or how most people would imagine as a café straight out of Paris. The white metal backs of the chairs were swirled into a near heart. The windows were placed so there was no direct sunlight, but the sun shone through in a soft glow, casting a golden light around. The tables had a glass top with a support system that mirrored the backs of the chairs. The centerpieces held a single pink rose and you could clearly smell the freshly baked pastries.

The other side did not have any windows, rather multiple shaded lanterns in an array of colors in different sizes hanging at varying lengths from the ceiling. The bookshelf held tattered and worn paperbacks that had a selection that varied from Bukowski and Robert Frost to Philip K Dick. Tons of art and photographs hung on the walls, some of which I recognized as Natalie's. The walls were painted a color somewhere between sky blue and teal. Yet even though it was clearly two separate styles they flowed together seamlessly and gave the bakery an almost serene feel.

"So what happened in New Orleans the first time that made you so happy to come back again?"

"Oh, Daddy," she smiled as she slipped back into her drawl, "like any good story it began with love."

**A/N: Sorry if this seems a bit rusty, still getting back in Carlisle and Natalie mode. Hope you enjoyed it. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE review to let me know y'all are still out there!**


	23. UPDATE

**UPDATE: I know it's been a while again but I actually have a valid reason this time! I got a new computer for my birthday (which makes me soooo happy) but it took a while to get office on it because my brother was getting it for me (he got a discount because he's in college). **

**I also wanted to take this time to respond to a few reviews so here we go! **

**To Dixie.f.9—I know it was a lot of getting to know you fluff but that was important because in reality Carlisle still doesn't know a lot about Natalie. **

**To TrulyScrumptious—I wasn't meaning for this story to be much more than messing around until after I started writing it which is why it pieces together so quickly but I do understand what you were saying. Also pathos is both a form of persuasion and a term used for Greek literature meaning the height of emotion in a play. Just to keep going (because you reviewed a lot-thanks by the way) It said in the story that the fairytale book was from Natalie's childhood, **_**Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**_** is just one of her favorites :P (Just trying to clear up any confusion) **

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews guys!**

**Now to the main reason for this update—I think I might discontinue the story. I've been really busy lately and it's not fair to my readers to only update every couple of months. On top of being busy I just don't feel inspired to continue the story-like epic writers block. That being said, I have been considering letting someone adopt the story but at the same time I don't want to give it up either because I know there's more stuff I want to happen in the story and (I know this sounds bad) I don't want it to end up in a different way. Does anyone have suggestions? Would you guys like me to keep writing with fewer updates or should I give someone else the chance? If I get enough people telling me to keep it up I'll try to update more often than I do know. Please let me know guys because I'm really conflicted!**


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I'm back behind the keyboard and decided to continue the story! But before I do a big HUGE thanks to Emily J. Redbird, it really made me feel better to know someone would still be reading even if I took some needed time off **** Also thanks to Carlisle's Wife for reviewing today because it just gave me that extra push to write again **** So chances are this chapter's going to be a bit rusty but hopefully it doesn't stay that way for long, thanks for reading! **

Last time: "Oh, Daddy," she smiled as she slipped back into her drawl, "like any good story it began with love."

_Carlisle's Point of View_

Why, oh why did it have to be something so hard!? Why couldn't New Orleans be special because of Mardi Gras or the French Quarter? I knew love could be the most beautiful thing and also the most painful, and I had a feeling this story was going to be one that ended with pain.

Instead of continuing though, she threw a couple of twenty-dollar bills at Danni telling her to keep the change and got up, clearly wanting to leave. I assumed it was just so we could be somewhere more private to discuss what I was now sure was a story full of heart break, but I was mistaken.

"So want to see the city, Daddy? I give great tours. Well sometimes, it depends on a lot of things like how interesting the place is and how much slee-"

I cut off her babbling knowing that she could and would keep it up as long as you didn't stop her. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened, Natalie? I know it's going to be hard but you said you wanted to talk about it and I think you need to."

She sighed and continued walking at a leisurely pace. "I promise I will, Daddy. Just go along with the whole 'tour' thing and the story will make more sense then."

Although I didn't want to wait to know what had happened to turn her life into such a nightmare lately, I knew there was no alternative. The only way Natalie ever opened up about something serious was on her own terms and own time.

"Alright," I said, "lead the way."

We went everywhere there was to be. Little cafés and street corners with jazz music, a voodoo shop and a random store of knick-knacks until we reached the waterfront. So far Natalie had explained the reason for visiting every location but when it came to the waterfront, she just sat and starred.

Lights from a nearby restaurant glimmered and reflected off the water. I did have to admit, it was extremely beautiful and I could see how one might be awe-struck by it. Especially someone as thoughtful as Natalie, but when I could smell the saltwater of silent tears being shed I became instantly worried.

"Natalie, sweetheart, what's wrong?" I cooed while rubbing her back in an effort to not only comfort her but get her to open up.

"It's nothing…it's just, this is where John proposed."

I don't know why it took so long for me to piece together the pieces myself. I knew she had been married before, she'd told me. And she also had told me just earlier today that her story had revolved around love. Why I didn't see that the two would come together here was a sad mistake on my end.

"So that's why you're in New Orleans? To relive the memories or?"

"Well, it just started out as someplace familiar to go but it turned into something more the closer I got."

"Like?" I prodded.

"Not yet," she said, "You haven't finished the tour."

We walked a short ways to a large house, clearly old yet one of those houses that would probably (and hopefully) never be torn down because of it's beauty. She inserted a key she had stored in her pocket into the lock on the front door and entered the beautiful house. It was even more exquisite on the inside.

"Well," Natalie squeaked, seeming nervous suddenly, "this is home."

I looked around me taking it all in. This is what my darling daughter had considered home for who knows how long, maybe still did. Even though I was hoping she would start calling Forks home, I knew that this place must have meant a lot to her and couldn't blame her for not wanting to give it up.

"It's beautiful!" I said, awe-struck. I was used to beautiful houses, but this was different somehow. Knowing my daughter had a past here, that she put hard work into it, made it extra spectacular.

"I'll show you around"

She walked upstairs and showed me the office first, then the guest bedrooms, then her master bedroom and bath. At first I wasn't expecting her to, and let her know that but she later said she wanted to, that it would feel better. She wouldn't, however, let me see the balcony, stating that was for later. There were a few things that were added later, but the integrity of the house remained the same, beautiful.

She continued the story downstairs and ended with the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

After the water was done boiling she asked to be excused for a minute while the tea cooled, and said that she just needed to get something ready, and stepped out the back door without showing me what was behind the shades.

After she had taken a small breather, she started her way back upstairs mug in hand, and beckoned me to follow. She went back into the master bedroom and opened the doors to the balcony, and it was clear why she would save it for last.

There was a couch there that had clearly been added later, but it didn't take away from the magnificence of it at all.

The back was covered with all different kinds of flowers with chuncks of grass and moss throughout the yard and what seemed like hundreds of candles were placed throughout illuminating the yard in the most magical of ways. There wasn't any walking space in sight. Just beyond you could see the river and because it had gotten dark the stars were twinkling above us. It was practically a picture right out of a fairytale book.

"This is my favorite place in the world. This spot right here" she whispered as she shifted slightly to the left.

"It's amazing" I was in awe. Even though there was no rhyme or reason to it all, it was still one of the most beautiful sights I'd seen in my entire life.

She sat down on the couch and took a long sip of her hot tea, "So I suppose now is when you want the hear the whole story, huh?"

"That would be nice, yes." I joked.

"Well, everything went crazy back in the roaring twenties…"

**A/N: So how'd I do first time back? Please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey y'all! So things have been crazy busy lately due to me renovating my room which is equal parts awesome and chaos. So anyways, once that's done I should be able to post more chapters. Also I have a youtube channel if you want to check it out! It's - . **

_Natalie's Point of View_

Well I guess I'd now put the story off as long as I could have, and I knew that the longer I waited to tell my father about John, the more anxious he would become about it.

"One year during Mardi Gras, me and a group of friends decided to go crash a party at one of the mansions uptown. I was unbelievably drunk and so was just about everyone else there…"

I ignored the angry glare my dad was giving me for that last comment and continued.

"I found this guy in the coat closet-also plastered mind you-and started laughing at him because he was so out of it he had no idea what he was doing! Well after talking for a minute or two we went back to the party and started to dance. That was the first of many, wonderful dates" I smiled while the good memories lasted.

"And I'm assuming by how attached you were to this John character that was just the beginning." Carlisle said.

"Well, as time progressed, and me being the fine lady that I am, John did the normal thing to do back then and proposed. It was the most beautiful ring! It wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before, or have seen since! I wish you could have been there, Daddy! I may be a little more than biased but I'd say it was the nicest wedding I'd ever been to! There was lace and daisies everywhere!"

The smile grew on my face the more I thought about it. I could feel it starting to hurt my cheekbones even! But when I realized the horrible part coming up, my smile started to fade a bit…more and more until there wasn't a ray of happiness in my body left. Without even realizing it at first, I started to cry.

"What happened then, Natalie?" My Daddy gently prodded me.

"A few years later, we were getting ready to-to have a baby" I muttered through the tears. "Only, I wasn't meant to have babies, I should have been dead a long time ago! So a little while into the pregnancy the baby well-it-it died!"

A sob finally broke through as I finished the sentence. My Daddy grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer to him until I thought he was going to squeeze the stuffing out of me.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl. Really sorry you sacrificed that part of your life for me."

I had heard him talking but wasn't paying any attention at that point. "I didn't even know what was happening at that point! John had to try and explain it all to me! How could I not know!"

He just held me in his arms and tried to calm me down as I relived the horror story for the millionth time lately. But somehow I knew that it was going to be okay. I had a family now, I wasn't all alone anymore! And somehow, in the midst of all the sadness, I felt a sliver of peace.

**A/N: Sorry this story is so short guys but like I said, I'll probably be posting more soon!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hey Everyone! So chapters might be few and far between until I figure out what the heck I am going to be doing with school which is making my life crazy insane right now…CURSE AP CLASSES! Anyways, just a heads up please don't hate me for it I'm juggling school, work, and dance as best I can right now!**

Chapter 25

_Natalie's Point of View_

After showing my dad what was essentially my entire past in less than 24 hours we packed up and headed home. I felt we both had a better understanding of each other even though he didn't say anything about himself while he was here. I was somewhat amazed at his willingness to drop everything and meet me in Louisiana but it was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt.

We flew home first class, which was nice, not to mention a first. However I was not able to fully appreciate it seeing as I crashed less than ten minutes after we took off. The last few days had been so exhausting. Just seeing Danni again was insane, let alone telling my life story to my father. After he had told me we were flying, I was really confused about how we were going to get the car back home but he told me he'd take care of it and not to worry.

I woke with a jolt when we landed feeling more well rested than I had in a long time. Going back home again and just allowing myself to wallow for a little while really brought about a sense of catharsis within myself. The whole family was waiting for us at the airport by baggage claim which was equal parts beautiful and awkward considering Esme looked as if her heart had shattered into pieces over the last few days with the rest of them either mirroring the hurt or having a look of hardly contained rage at my sudden disappearance.

Esme hugged me tightly and while she didn't say it, it was obvious she was telling me not to do something like that unless I wanted to be yelled at for a good hour and a half. I went around giving everyone a hug while shedding a few tears. I had missed them a lot more than I thought I had. It was strange to think that a while ago I had given up hope on finding my father and now I had an entire family…it was unbelievable!

Of course, the peace couldn't last and not long after being reunited with them, my family began interrogating me until Carlisle gave them "that look" that I was surprised worked on everyone else as well as me, but glad it did. Considering how much I didn't sleep on a regular basis, all I wanted to do was go home, take a bath, and crawl into bed. You would think that sleeping as much as I had on the plane would have rejuvenated me but apparently not. I spent the drive home resting my head on Jasper's shoulder and holding Rosalie's hand, relishing the closeness of my family and drifted in and out of sleep.

When we finally got there, Daddy carefully carried me up to my room and tucked me into bed, despite my protests of needing to shower first. Apparently my stubborn streak was beginning to wear thin because I don't remember the last thing he said to me, only that he kissed my hair and pulled the covers up to my chin, tucking me in for the night to recover from the trip.

_Carlisle's Point of View_

I smiled at my snoozing daughter, unbelievably happy that she was home safe and sound and that I didn't have to worry about her whereabouts anymore. Of course, now came the questions. Luckily, I was able to ward off most of them until Natalie got some well-needed sleep but I knew that despite their unending patience for most things, when it came to my beautiful daughter, my family did not like waiting for answers.

They had all already convened around the kitchen table, naturally expecting this discussion to take place. Honestly though, I wasn't quite sure what to say. I didn't want to tell them about her marriage and pregnancy, that was up to her to share with them as she wished, but I knew that if they didn't get some sort of explanation, they would only go to her…a situation I was sure would only begin to bring back Natalie's barely wavering stress and anxiety.

I took my seat at the head of the table and took a deep breath, which was apparently the signal for the beginning of this conversation. Everyone began asking questions over one another, not being able to get all the words out quickly enough but luckily, I was able to catch what seemed to be the most important parts of it.

"Where did she go?" -Emmett

"Is she going to be okay?"-Jasper

"Does she need to talk to someone?" -Edward

"Is there something we should know?"-Esme

"Will shopping make her feel better?" –Alice (_of course_)

But while the others expressed their undeniable concern, Rosalie seemed unfamiliarly silent, though she had certainly wanted to talk to Natalie earlier. I guess it was up to her to work that out but answered what I could pertaining to the rest of the questions: "She went South, a place she's become familiar with over the years, and visited some old memories. She seems like she'll be fine but if she approaches you wanting to talk, don't deny her that opportunity either, not that I think any of you would. As for you Alice, " I smiled at one of my beautiful adopted daughters, "I'm sure she'd love spending some quality time with you and Rose. Ask her in the morning if she's feeling up to it and feel free to do whatever you think will cheer her up"

Everyone seemed to accept the straightforward answer which surprised me but I was not about to argue. It was clear everyone in the family had come to love her as an irreplaceable part of the family, which made my heart melt. We continued to sit around the kitchen table, secretly talking about Natalie and how glad we were to have her around, smiling knowing that if she could hear us she'd be bright red. It certainly was a moment that was worth quite a lot.

**A/N: Hi guys! I know it's been a super long time and I'm sorry…also, this chapter might be super rusty and I'm sorry about that too BUT (I know I say this every time but it's true!) I'm going to make a goal to start posting once a week so hopefully that will let this story resolve in the way I want it to in a reasonable time frame! Love you all! Reviews always welcomed!**


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